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SEYMOUR  DURST 

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REMINISCENCES 


OF 


N    OLD  YORKER 


BY   THE  LATE 


WILLIAM  A.  DUf  R,  LL.D., 

President  of  Columbia  College,  etc. 


NEW  YORK: 
PRINTED   FOR    W.  L.  ANDREWS. 

1867.      jjjj  ' 


CLAJJIC5 

a* 


THIRTY-FIVE  COPIES  PRINTED.  * 


[From  77(e  American  Mail,  Saturday,  June  5, 1847.] 

NUMBER  ONE. 

After  the  fatal  battle  of  Long  Island,  my  parents  left 
this  city,  where  they  resided  since  their  marriage,  some 
three  years  before.  They  took  refuge  in  erne  of  the  river 
counties  immediately  above  the  Highlands,  where,  after 
the  expiration  of  some  -three  years  more,  I  came  into  this 
breathing  world.  My  memory  retains  some  faint  impres- 
sions of  particular  events  which  occurred  after  the  lapse  of 
another  period  of  three  years ;  when  consequently,  I  was 
entering  upon  the  fourth  year  of  my  mortal  pilgrimage. 
The  earliest  circumstance,  however,  that  I  can  recall,  with 
any  degree  of  distinctness,  was  probably  fixed  on  my 
memory  by  fear.  This  was  a  rough  passage  on  the  North 
river,  in  a  boat  manned  by  soldiers,  from  my  father's  resi- 
dence during  the  war,  to  West  Point.  I  afterwards  under- 
stood it  to  have  been  a  government  barge  sent  to  convey 
our  family  to  the  quarters  of  the  commandant  of  that 
famous  military  jpst,  General  Knox,  an  old  friend  of  my 
father.  I  remember  being  put  to  bed  with  a  son  of  the 
general,  a  few  years  older  than  myself,  who  objected  to  me 
for  a  bed-fellow,  on  the  score  of  a  dispute  we  had  at  supper, 
which,  by  the  intervention  of  the  higher  powers,  was  de- 


4 


HEMIiVISCENCES  OF 


cided  in  my  favor.  The  moment,  however,  the  mediatrix 
had  withdrawn  with  the  caudle,  our  dispute  was  renewed, 
and  broke  out  into  open  war,  which  was  continued  in  the 
dark,  until  both  parties  were  fairly  exhausted,  aud  sleep 
put  an  end  to  further  hostilities. 

I  have  no  recollection  of  the  passage  down  the  river, 
owing,  probably,  to  my  making  up  in  the  day  for  the 
sleep  I  had  lost  the  night  before.  But  I  recollect  the  drive 
in  a  carriage  from  the  Albany  pier,  where  we  had  landed, 
up  Whitehall  and  Broadway  towards  our  future  residence. 
We  passed  under  the  eastern  wall  of  the  old  Fort,  called 
the  "  upper  battery,"  and,  seeing  the  dismounted  guns 
lying  about  the  esplanade  in' front,  I  thought,  for  a  mo- 
ment, we  had  got  back  to  West  Point ;  but  was  undeceived 
when  I  saw  the  pedestal  within  the  palings  of  the  Bowling 
Green,  from  the  top  of  which  the  leaden  statue  of  George 
III  had  been  dismounted,  to  be  cast  into  rebellions  bullets. 
I  was  next  attracted  by  the  ruined  walls  of  the  houses  burnt 
in  the  great  fire  of  1776,  which  occupied  very  much  the 
same  ground  on  Broadway  covered  by  the  late  more  exten- 
sive conflagration,  but  did  not  include  the  buildings 
destroyed  by  the  latter  in  Broad  street,  and  the  streets  in 
its  neighborhood.  -On  the  other  hand,  the  former  compre- 
hended Trinity  Church,  the  ruins  of  which  remained 
standing  until  another  was  erected  on  the  same  site,  which 
has  been  since  removed  to  make  way  for  the  present 
superb  edifice. 

Upon  reaching  the  ruins  of  the  "  burnt  church,"  as  it 
was  then  called,  we  turned  into  Wall  street,  and  at  its 
intersection  with  Smith  (now  William)  street,  I  was  struck 
with  the  statue  of  the  elder  Pitt,  which^ndeed,  had  been 
suffered  to  remain  on  its  pedestal;  though  "afterwards, 
when  he  had  opposed  our  independence,  it  was  most  patri- 
otically defaced.  Wall  street  was  then  the  fashionable 
street;  and  this  point  of  intersection  was  the  centre  of 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


5 


attraction  —  for  near  it  dwelt  the  celebrated  belle,  whose 
reign  commenced  during  the  Revolution,  while  the  city 
was  occupied  by  the  British  army,  the  officers  of  which 
were  more  devoted  to  her,  than  to  their  legitimate 
sovereign  over  the  seas.  Nor  did  her  influence  cease  until 
\t  had  been  felt  by  a  second,  if  not  a  third  generation  of 
beaux — as  it  continued  long  after  —  as  she  herself  ex- 
pressed it  —  "  the  scarlet  fever  had  been  succeeded  by  the 
blue  devils."  On  the  north-west  corner  of  the  junction  of 
the  two  streets,  where  the  Bank  of  America  now  stands, 
there  stood,  not  the  house  in  which  that  institution  was 
first  established,  and  which  was  removed  to  make  way  for 
the  present  building,  but  a  large,  three  story  double  house 
of  brick,  once  the  family  mansion  of  the  Marstons,  and 
then  occupied  by  Mynheer  Van  Berckle,  Minister  from  the 
States-General  of  Holland.  On  the  opposite  corner,  the 
present  site  of  the  Bank  of  New  York,  was  the  residence 
of  the  elder  William  Edgar;  the  next  was  the  private 
dwelling  of  Colonel  John  Lamb,  Collector  of  the  Port  of 
New  York,  under  the  State  government.  Below,  on  the 
same  side  of  the  way,  were  the  family  residences  of  the 
Smiths,  Dennings,  Startins  and  Cuylers.  The  Joneses  had 
not  as  yet  got  so  far  up  the  street.  On  the  opposite  side 
were  the  Whites,  Goolds,  Buchanans,  and  Van  Homes  — 
the  celebrated  bachelor-lodging  house  of  Mrs.  Daubigny, 
and  the  more  notorious  bachelor  homestead  of  Daniel 
McCormick,  upon  whose  stoop  were  seated,  for  several 
hours  every  fair  day  of  the  week,  himself,  his  cronies  and 
his  toadies,  the  latter  of  whom  generally  stayed  fo  dinner. 

Proceeding  from  Wall  street  up  the  north  branch  of 
Smith  street,  we  arrived  at  the  town-house  of  the  Philipses 
of  Philipse's  manor.  This  stood  at  the  corner  of  King,  (now 
Pine)  street.  Next  below  resided  the  Waddells  ;  opposite, 
the  Ludlows ;  and  at  the  opposite  corner,  the  Duyckincks. 
At  the  corner  of  Little  Queen  (now  Cedar)  street,  was 


6 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


situated  the  large  mansion  of  the  Beekmans ;  and,  imme- 
diately opposite,  the  more  modest  dwelling  of  John  Alsop, 
a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  the  father-in- 
law  of  Rufus  King.  Smith  street  extended  to  Maiden  lane, 
where  William  street  formerly  began.  Then,  as  now,  the 
latter  was  almost  entirely  filled  with  shojys,  as  they  were' 
called  in  those  days ;  but  it  was  not  then  so  wholly  en- 
grossed by  shops  as  now.  At  the  lower  end  were  the 
dwelling  houses  of  the  veterans,  Commodore  James 
Nicholson  and  Dr.  John  Bard;  and  higher  up,  that  of 
Samuel  Gilford,  still  standing,  and  occupied  by  his  son 
bearing  the  same  name.  This  venerable  edifice  has  been 
preserved  as  safe  from  the  scythe  of  improvement  —  "  now 
sweeping  o'er  the  land  " —  as  from  that  of  time  —  the  monu- 
ment of  former  days,  and  miracle  of  the  present. 

Returning  to  the  corner  of  "Wall  street,  and  pursuing 
Smith  street  towards  the  south,  were  the  homes  of  the 
Clarksons,  the  Kembles,  the  Costers,  and  another  branch 
of  the  Van  Homes.  We  come  now  to  Hanover  Square,  near 
which  resided  the  families  of  Gouverneur,  Goelet,  Bache, 
Broome,  Hamersley,  and  another  Van  Home.  Turning 
the  corner  south-westerly  into  Great  Dock  (now  part  of 
Pearl)  street,  we  pass  the  doors  of  Robert  Cambridge 
Livingston,  William  Constable,  William  Neilson,  and 
reach  Abraham  Brinckerhoff's  shop,  at  the  corner  of  Coen- 
ties'  Lane.  Adjoining  to  this,  was  the  hospitable  mansion 
of  the  widow  John  Lawrence,  known  in  his  life-time  as 
"  handsome  Johnny."  This  good  lady  kept  open  house 
for  her  relations,  or  rather  her  relations  kept  her  house 
open  for  themselves;  and,  as  her  maiden  name  was 
Livingston,  it  will  not  be  thought  in  the  least  surprising 
that  she  had  more  nieces  and  nephews  of  her  own,  than 
any  other  half-a-dozen  rich  widows  in  the  city,  besides 
that  portion  of  the  population  of  Long  Island,  who  claimed 
the  same  relationship  as  derived  from  her  deceased  hus- 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


7 


band.  It  may,  therefore,  easily  be  imagined  that  her 
bouse  was  always  full  to  overflowing;  some  of  her  visitors 
were  transient,  some  constant,  and  some  perpetual ;  and, 
instead  of  her  presenting  them  with  bills  for  board  and 
lodging,  many  of  their  bills  for  clothing,  washing,  etc., 
were  presented  to  her,  and  paid.  But,  not  to  imitate  some 
of  her  guests,  by  wearing  out  a  welcome,  I  will  now  stop, 
though  in  a  reverse  sense  from  theirs ;  for,  unlike  most  of 
them,  I  will  not  stop  longer  than  a  week,  at  the  expiration 
of  which  period,  you  may  expect  to  hear  again  from 

Peregrine  Mindful. 

Marketfield  street,  May  31, 1847. 


[From  The  American  Mail,  Saturday,  June  12, 1847.] 

NUMBER  TWO. 

Having  parted  company  at  the  door  of  the  hospitable 
mansion  of  the  good  Aunt  Lawrence,  we  start  anew  on 
our  voyage  round  the  city,  and  shape  our  course,  westerly 
towards  Broad  street.  At  the  north-east  corner  of  Great 
Dock  (now  part  of  Pearl)  street,  stood  the  dwelling  of 
Melancton  Smith,  a  man  of  no  mean  celebrity  in  his  day, 
who  first  rendered  himself  conspicuous  by  his  opposition 
to  the  Federal  Constitution.  He  was  not  without  talent 
as  a  popular  speaker,  and  possessed  that  just  and  enviable 
influence,  which  arises  from  the  experienced  confidence  of 
an  intelligent  people,  in  the  integrity  of  their  representa- 
tives. His  opposition  to  the  new  Constitution  was  honest. 
He  was  proud  of  being  a  citizen  of  a  state  which  he  fore- 
saw would  soon  become  the  most  populous  and  wealthy, 
and  therefore  the  most  powerful  in  the  Confederacy ;  but 


8 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


he  did  not  look  beyond  its  limits,  or,  raise  his  views  to 
national  objects.  Besides,  his  associations  were  bad,  and 
he  did  not  escape  infection  from  the  prejudices  and 
jealousies  of  men  of  inferior  minds  though  higher  station  — 
men  of  petty  ambition,  who  were  conscious  that  they 
could  never  enjoy  such  consideration  and  importance  in  a 
higher  sphere  than  the  State  government.  Like  Csesar, 
they  preferred  to  be  first  in  a  village  rather  than  second  at 
Rome,  and  were  therefore  unwilling  to  measure  themselves 
with  others,  lest  the  comparison  should  prove  odious.  In 
short,  this  good  and  able  man  and  true  republican,  was 
seduced  into  anti-federalism,  and  eventually  declined  into 
democracy.  I  well  remember  the  last  time  I  heard  him 
speak  in  public.  It  was  in  the  year  1798,  at  a  Debating 
Club,  where  I  sometimes  ventured  to  cross  my  feeble 
weapon  with  his  ponderous  battle-axe.  The  question  was, 
"  "Whether  the  carrying  trade  is  advantageous  to  the  United 
States  or  not  ?  "  and  he  argued  for  the  negative,  with  great 
ingenuity,  and  what  A\ras  better,  with  great  sincerity ;"  for 
his  whole  heart  seemed  to  bo  in  the  subject.  Poor  Melanc- 
ton  !  hadst  thou  eschewed  the  Clintons,  the  L'Homme- 
dieus,  the  Hathorns,  and  the  Havenses,  thou  mightest 
have  risen  to  the  level  of  the  Jays,  the  Hamiltons,  the 
Morrises  and  the  Kings,  who  would  have  converted  thee  to 
public  purposes,  and  not  have  used  thee  for  their  own.  "Well 
wast  thou  called  "  Melancton,"  for  thou  wast  the  mildest 
and  most  moderate  of  thy  brethren.    Requiescas  in  pace  ! 

Let  us  not  deviate  further  into  the  tempting  path  of 
biography,  but  return  to  our  humble  progress  in  topo- 
graphy. Let  us  linger,  however,  a  little  longer  at  "  Smith's 
cornei*,"  to  contemplate  the  old  Knrhanqe,  a  brick  building 
upon  arches,  under  which  our  "  merchants  once  did  con- 
gregate." It  was  situate  in  Broad,  between  Great  and 
Little  Dock  (now  Water)  streets.  The  lower  part  was 
converted  into  a  market,  the  upper  into  a  museum.  The 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


9 


latter  was  the  first  establishment  of  the  kind  in  point  of 
time,  in  this  city,  and  second  only,  both  in  time  and  extent, 
to  Peale's  in  Philadelphia.  It  was  kept  by  Gardiner  Baker, 
a  snub-nosed,  pock-pitted,  bandy-legged,  fussy,  good-natured 
little  body,  full  of  zeal  and  bustle  in  his  vocation,  who 
expended  his  money  and  credit  in  collecting  all  sorts  of 
curiosities,  from  the  skeleton  of  a  dragon-fly  up  to  that  of 
a  mammoth.  In  one  word,  he  was  an  enthusiast,  and  of 
course  ruined  himself  for  the  benefit  of  his  successoi*s,  and 
the  public.  He  was,  moreover,  a  greater  curiosity  than 
any  in  his  Museum  —  besides  being  an  original  member, 
and  the  first  Winskaisky  of  the  Tammany  Society !  I 
remember  seeing  little  Gardiner  on  tbe  day  of  his  greatest 
glory  —  bearing  the  Great  Standard  of  "  The  Columbian 
Order" — at  the  head  of  the  Society,  when,  apparelled  in 
native  costume,  they  escorted  the  ambassadors  of  the  legiti- 
mate savages  upon  their  landing  at  the  Coffee  House  slip, 
to  Campbell's  tea  garden  at  Greenwich,  somewhere  between 
the  present  Harrison  and  Xorth  Moore  streets,  where 
quarters  had  been  provided  for  them  by  Government. 
The  real  Indians  took  him  at  first  for  a  genuine  papoose, 
and  vowed  that  he  performed  his  part  better  than  the 
Grand  Sachem  —  Josiah  Ogden  Hoffman,  or  even  the  Saga- 
more, Cadicallader  D.  Colden,  though  the  ancestor  of  the 
latter  was  supposed  to  have  emigrated  from  "Wales  with 
Prince  Madoc,  and  to  have  been  instrumental,  therefore, 
in  the  first  peopling  of  this  continent. 

"When  at  home,  in  his  "  Curiosity  Shop,"  little  Gardiner, 
after  exhibiting  his  wares  and  himself,  would  point  out  to 
his- visitors  the  wonders  of  the  neighborhood.  Looking  up 
Broad  street  from  his  north  window,  lie  would  first  direct 
their  attention  to  the  old  f err '/-house,  at  the  corner  of  Garden 
street,  now  perverted  into  "Exchange  place,"  and  then 
expatiate  upon  the  once  "  gilt  with  gold  "  pettiauger-shaped 
vane  at  the  top  of  the  gable  end  fronting  the  street.    Oh ! 


'10 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


how  he  would  chuckle  at  the  astonishment  of  his  hearers, 
at  seeing  a  ferry-house  so  far  from  any  water!  Then 
would  he  assuage  their  incredulity  by  letting  them  into 
the  secret,  that  the  building  in  which  they  stood  was 
erected  over  a  common  sewer,  extending  to  the  feny- 
house!  And  next  would  he  explain  the  mystery  of  its  loca- 
tion b}'  informing  them  that  Broad  street  rested  upon 
arches  built  over  the  creek  which  led  from  the  river  to  the 
ferry-house. 

"While  your  younger  readers  are  seasoning  their  admira- 
tion at  this  disclosure,  I  will  prepare  for  them  another, 
perhaps  more  astounding,  and  that  is,  that  the  remainder 
of  Dock  street  to  the  corner  of  White  Hall,  was  part  and 
parcel  of  the  court  end  of  the  town,  and  next  to  Wall  street, 
the  most  fashionable  quarter.  Here  were  the  residences  of 
the  Delaneys,  Wattses,  Duers,  Bainbridges,  Sherbrookes, 
and  Clarksons.  But  what  is  more  extraordinary,  this 
respectable  precinct  had  Once  been  suddenly  condemned  to 
the  vilest  uses.  Tbe  great  fire  of  1776  had  extended  down 
both  sides  of  Moore  street  to  the  water;  but  for  the  most 
part  it  destroyed  only  the  roofs  of  parts  of  the  houses  — 
though,  in  some  instances,  both.  The  buildings  thus 
partially  injured  were  protected  by  old  sails  spread  over 
them,  and  hence  obtained  the  name  of  Canvass-town .  In 
this  condition,  they  afforded  cheap  and  convenient  lodgings 
for  the  frail  sisterhood,  who  plied  their  trade  most  briskly 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  shipping  and  the  barracks ;  for  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  we  have  now  arrived  at  the 
corner  of  Whitehall  street,  near  the  eastern  entrance  of  the 
"  lower  battery."  The  inclosure  extended  up  that  street  to 
the  larger  and  higher  fortress,  or  "  upper  battery,"  men- 
tioned in  my  first  number.  Along  the  site  of  the  present 
State  street  —  which  was  within  the  inclosure  —  stood  a 
range  of  barracks,  erected  before  the  Revolution,  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  royal  troops,  and  afterwards  occupied 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


n 


by  a  rebel  garrison,  under  the  rebel  Generals  Stirling, 
Thompson,  and  Lee. 

Passing  onward  through  the  battery,  we  come  again  to 
Broadway,  at  tbe  old  mansion  still  standing,  and  formerly 
belonging  to  Captain  Archibald  Kennedy,  of  the  royal  navy 
of  Great  Britain,  tvho,  late  in  life,  succeeded  to  the  Scotch 
earldom  of  Cassilis.  While  in  command  at  New  York,  he 
married  into  the  Watts  family,  and  thus,  probably,acquired 
this  portion  of  his  estate.  It  comprehended,  at  that  time, 
the  whole  space  between  Broadway  and  the  river.  Within 
my  own  memory,  the  east  side  of  Greenwich  street,  which 
formed  the  western  boundary  of  the  premises  in  question, 
descended  with  a  gradual  slope  to  a  saudy  beach ;  and  I 
have  often  heard  my  mother  say  that  in  her  youth  she  had 
enjoyed  the  amusements  of  fishing  from  a  summer  house, 
on  the  garden  wall,  overhanging  the  water. 

The  next  house  on  Broadway  belonged  to  John  Watts,  a 
member  of  the  Provincial  Council  —  father  of  the  late 
Robert  and  John  Watts,  and  father-in-law  of  Captain  Ken- 
nedy. It  was  occupied  by  the  old  gentleman,  in  his  life- 
time, and  by  his  second  son  after  his  father's  death,  and 
until  his  own.  The  next,  now  the  Atlantic  Hotel,  was 
built  (at  least  three  stories  of  it)  some  years  after  the  peace 
of  1783,  by  the  late  Chancellor  Livingston,  and  was  his 
town  residence  xiutil  his  mission  to  France  in  1801.  That 
with  the  marble  front  next  to  it,  was  erected,  within  the 
last  twenty  years  upon  the  site  of  the  old  family  mansion  of 
the  Stevenses.  It  was  built  by  the  grandfather  of  those 
ingenious  and  enterprising  persons,  John  C.  and  Robert  L. 
Stevens,  whose  father,  the  late  Colonel  John  Stevens,  of 
Hoboken,  inherited  from  his  maternal  grandfather,  James 
Alexander,  the  great  statesman,  lawyer,  and  mathematician 
of  the  colonial  times,  the  genius  for  scientific  discovery  and 
mechanical  invention,  which  he  transmitted  to  his  sons. 
Upon  the  retirement  of  the  elder  Stevens  to  Hoboken,  his 


12 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


town  house  was  tenanted  by  General  Henry  Knox,  Secre- 
tary of  War,  under  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation,  and 
during  the  first  term  of  General  Washington's  administra- 
tion. The  next  house  of  note  —  remarkable,  however, 
.merely  for  the  character  of  its  tenants  —  was  that  of  John 
Jay,  clarum  et  venerabile  nomcn.  It  occupied  the  site  of  the 
noble  granite  mansion  erected  by  Robert  Kay,  who  resided 
there  until  its  destruction«in  the  last  great  conflagration. 
It  has  since  been  rebuilt  and  let  as  a  boarding  house. 

In  our  further  progress  up  Broadway,  the  next  house 
notable  from  its  associations,  is  that  which  presents  the 
most  interesting  of  any,  Bunker's  Hotel,  or  as  he  calls  it 
"  Mansion  House,"  which  was  built  with  two  others  adjoin- 
ing it  on  the  north  by  the  father  of  the  late  General 
Macomb,  and  became  the  residence  of  "Washington,  for  the 
better  part  of  thfi  period  (hiring  whk-h  New  York  was  the 
seat  of  tin'  Federal  ( Government.  There  it  was  my  good 
fortune  to  pass  many  happy  hours  of  my  youth,  as  the 
schoolmate  and  companion  of  Mrs.  Washington's  grandson, 
who  still  survives  in  his  retirement  at  Arlington  house, 
opposite  to  the  city  of  Washington.  There,  too,  was  I 
frequently  admitted  to  the  presence  of  that  dignified 
and'amiablc  matron,  and  of  her  august  liusliand;  audi 
may  be  permitted  to  boast  of  receiving  the  kindest  notice, 
if  not  actual  caresses  from  them  both.  Little  was  I  then 
aware  of  the  honor  thus  conferred  on  me,  or  did  I  anticipate 
the  feeling  of  honest  pride*  and  exultation  with  which  I 
should  look  back  upon  it,  through  the  vista  of  more  than 
half  a  century ! 

We  have  now  arrived  at  the  point,  at  which  we  took  our 
departure  from  Broadway,  and  have  again  reached  the 
head  of  Wall  street  Our  walk  has  been  circuitous;  and 
in  former  times  it  would  have  been  considered  long ;  but  it 
has  not,  I  trust,  been  void  of  compensating  interest.  Lest, 
peradventure,  it  should  prove  tiresome  to  those  who  now 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


L3 


walk  the  distance  which  their  fathers  rode,  we  will  rest  for 
the  present  before  the  "  gorgeous  temple,  and  cloud-capt 
tower"  that  lifts  its  tall  spire  to  the  sides,  but  mocks  them 
with  the  gilded  toy  that  tops  it.  We  will  not  enter,  lest 
the  solemn  mockery  within  should  repel,  instead  of  excite, 
as  in  charity  we  may  suppose  it  intended  to  excite,  that 
pure  spirit  of  devotion  which  sanctified  the  humbler  edifice 
from  whose  ruins  it  has  arisen. 

Peregrine  Mindful. 

Marketfidd  street,  June  1,  1847. 


'  [From  the  Adrian  ifail,  Saturday,  June  19,  1847.] 

NUMBER  THREE. 

In  looking  down  Wall  street  from  the  ruins  of  the  old 
Trinity,  the  first  object  that  arrested  attention  was  the 
"  Presbyterian  meeting;  "  —  not  the  handsome  edifice  that 
lately  crossed  the  ferry  to  Jersey  City,  but  the  homely 
building  of  rough  stone  that  was  removed  to  make  way  for 
it.  The  one,  had  indeed,  been  graced  by  the  piety  and 
eloquence  of  a  Miller  and  his  successors  —  but  the  other 
had  resounded  to  the  fervid  eloquence  of  Whitefield,  who, 
it  will  be  recollected,  came  out  to  this  country  before  the 
Revolution,  and  died  here.  Persons  of  all  sects  were 
attracted  by  his  fame  as  a  preacher,  and  whenever  it  was 
known  that  he  was  to  occupy  the  pulpit,  every  pew,  gallery, 
and  aisle  was  sure  to  be  filled.  The  very  sound  of  his 
deep-toned  and  melodious  voice  was  enough  to  rouse  the 
enthusiasm  of  his  hearers,  and  connected  with  his  exciting 
doctrine,  its  effect  was  said  to  be  overpowering.  My 


14 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


father,  who  went  often  to  listen  to  his  oratory,  was  wont  to 
relate  that  on  one  of  these  occasions,  he  happened  to  he 
seated  next  to  an  old  lady,  whom  the  pathetic  eloquence  of 
the  preacher  had  moved  to  tears.  I  They  flowed  so  copiously, 
and  were  accompanied  hy  sobs  so  loud,  and  sighs  so  deep, 
and,  withal,  so  indiscriminate,  that  he  was  induced  to  ask 
her,  after  the  exercises  were  over,  what  part  of  the  sermon 
had  most  particularly  affected  her  ?  "  Oh !  Sir,"  she  re- 
plied, "it  was  when  he  said  Gethscmane!  Gethsemane ! " 
It  was  not  surely  the  magic  of  the  word,  but  of  its  utter- 
ance, that  operated  more  forcibly  upon  her  imagination, 
than  the  doctrine  of  the  oratorical  preacher  upon  the  heart. 

The  venerable  Dr.  John  Rodgers  was  afterwards  for 
many  years  the  pastor  of  the  flock  collected  in  this  ancient 
fold ;  and  a  more  pious,  amiable,  and  courtly  personage, 
never  adorned  the  pulpit.  He  did  not,  however,  carry  his 
politeness  into  it,  any  farther  than  as  a  part  of  his  humani- 
ties. His  manner  was  ever  mild  and  conciliatory,  but  in 
his  matter  he  was  uncompromising.  He  was  no  Boancrq*  * 
laboring  to  terrify  his  hearers  into  goodness;  but  a  gentle 
shepherd,  who  like  his  Divine  Master,  sought  to  gather  his 
sheep  into  the  fold  by  the  persuasive  accents  of  his  voice, 
and  verily  "  his  sheep  knew  his  voice." 

I  have  the  good  old  gentleman  at  this  moment,  distinctly 
before  me,  in  his  buzz-wig,  three  cornered  hat,  gold-headed 
cane,  and  silver  buckles  in  his  well  polished  shoes — as  he 
passed  along  the  street  in  his  gown  and  bands  which  he 
wore  not  only  on  Sundays,  but  on  the  week  days  he  de- 
voted to  visiting  among  his  congregation — bowing  right 
and  left,  to  all  who  saluted  him,  and  all  were  prompt  to 
anticipate  the  courtesy.  Often,  when  a  boy,  have  I  seen 
him  stop  to  chat  with  a  friend,  and  every  acquaintance 
Avas  a  friend,  whom,  after  a  more  formal  salutation,  he 
would  always  greet  with  kind  inquiries  as  to  his  health 
and  welfare;  and  often,  graceless  chap  that  I  was,  have  I 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


15 


been  amused  by  the  formality  of  his  address  and  manner. 
He  carried  tbese,  indeed,  so  far  as  to  give  an  air  of  proba- 
bility to  what  was  related  on  the  subject,  by  a  wicked  wit 
connected  wijli  his  family,  wbicb,  if  not  true,  is  at  least 
characteristic.  Tbis  joker  of  jokes,  declared  tbat  the  polite 
old  gentleman  and  his  equally  ceremonious  old  lady  never 
retired  togetber  at  night  witbout  exchanging  a  bow  and  a 
courtesy  before  stepping  into  bed.  The  same  incorrigible 
wag  used  also  to  relate  the  particulars  of  an  interview  be- 
tween the  good  Doctor  and  one  of  his  contemporaries, 
who,  to  a  formality  and  courtesy  equal  to  his  friends,  added 
a  more  imposing  manner  and  pompous  vocabulary.  Ac- 
cording to  tbis  rather  suspicious  authority,  these  "  grave 
and  reverend  seniors,"  met  once  in  Broadway  when  the 
ground  was  covered  with  a  deep  snow.  After  their  cus- 
tomary and  ortbodox  salutations  by  gesture  and  by  word- 
of-mouth,  the  one  observed,  "  that  the  snow  was  deep," 
the  other  answered,  "  that  it  was  desirable  to  get  rid  of  it," 
the  one  ejaculated  a  pious  hope  that  "  it  might  be  carried  off 
speedily."  "  JSTot  so  my  clear  Doctor,"  replied  the  other, 
"  let  us  rather  pray  heaven  in  its  mercy  to  remove  it  gradu- 
ally, very  gradually,  Doctor."  "Ay,  my  dear  Doctor,  by 
causing  his  sun  to  shine  on  it,"  rejoined  the  one.  "~Nol 
no  !  my  dear  Doctor,"  said  the  other,  "  by  sending  a  gentle 
rain  to  melt  it  gradually,  Doctor,  gradually  !  "  If  in  record- 
ing this  anecdote,  its  spirit,  as  is  often  the  case,  seems  to 
have  evaporated,  it  is  because  the  manner  in  which  it  was 
told  by  the  original  inventor,  gave  point  to  it.  In  imita- 
tion of  his  example,  I  have  forborne  to  affix  the  names  of 
the  speakers  to  their  several  parts  in  the  colloquy.  With 
him  it  was  unnecessary,  as  his  exquisite  mimicry  prevented 
the  possibility  of  a  mistake  ;  and,  in  my  version,  perhaps, 
the  characteristic  verisimilitude  of  their  speeches  will 
enable  my  readers  to  discriminate  between  them. 

After  yielding  thus  far  to  the  association  arising  from 


1 0 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


position,  I  may  be  excused  for  following  it  still  further  and 
introducing  a  clerical  contemporary  of  the  persons  already 
mentioned  —  more  closely  connected  than  cither  of  them 
with  the  genius  of  the  place.  I  mean  the  first  Hector  of 
Trinity  Church,  after  the  Revolution,  and  the  first  Bishop 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  our  State,  Samuel 
Provoost,  In  character  and  appeai'ance,  he  was  every  inch 
a  bishop ;  —  not,  indeed,  according  to  modern  notions  and 
exemplars,  but  after  the  model  of  the  fathers  of  the  reform- 
ation in  the  English  Church.  Devout  without  ostenta- 
tion, stately  without  pride,  dignified  without  austerity,  he 
commanded  the  respect  and  esteem  both  of  his  clergy  and 
the  people  —  and  he  won  the  friendship  and  affections  of 
all  admitted  to  his  intimacy.  Like  his  saintly  fellows  in 
the  Episcopacy,  White  and  Madison,  he  was  the  disciple  of 
Cranmer,  Latimer  and  Ridley — not  the  follower  of  Bonner, 
Laud,  and  the  non-juring  Bishops  of  Scotland,  like  some  of 
his  successors.  He  was  truly  Catholic,  both  in  his  princi- 
ples and  in  his  feelings ;  nor  was  his  charity  confined  to 
his  own  denomination.  It  comprehended  all  who  con- 
fessed "  the  Lord  that  bought  them,"  within  the  pale  of 
that  universal  church  which  is  defined  to  be  a  "  Congrega- 
tion of  faithful  men."  One  of  the  few  among  the  Episcopal 
Clerg3Ts  who  adhered  to  their  country  at  the  Revolution  — 
he  sought  an  asylum  when  the  British  took  possession  of 
the  city,  among  his  relatives  in  the  manor  of  Livingston, 
where  he  resided  during  the  war.  Upon  the  evacuation  of 
New  York  by  the  British  he  returned,  with  the  rest  of  the 
inhabitants  who  had  fled  at  their  approach;  and  when  his 
whig  friends  gained  the  ascendency  in  the  vestry,  he  was 
chosen  for  its  Rector,  instead  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Moore,  who 
had  remained  in  the  city  as  an  adherent  to  the  Crown. 
Nor  Avas  the  preference  given  to  Dr.  Provoost  merely  on 
account  of  his  political  principles  —  but  for  qualifications 
essential  and  germain  to  the  office.    He  had  received  his 


AN  OLD  YORKER.  17 

education  at  the  University  of  Oxford,  and  brought  from  it 
acquisitions  more  valuable  than  the  tory  principles  she 
more  usually  dispenses.  Besides  being  a  learned  and 
sound  divine,  he  was  a  polite  scholar  and  accomplished 
gentleman.  He  read  the  noble  Liturgy  of  his  Church 
with  critical  accuracy,  without  impairing  the  devotional 
spirit  it  is  so  well  calculated  to  excite.  As  a  preacher  he 
was  not  so  happy.  .His  deliberate  and  sonorous  declama- 
tion was  better  adapted  to  the  reading  desk  than  the  pulpit. 
Although  his  enunciation  was  distinct  as  well  as  forcible, 
yet  his  sermons  w&re  delivered  so  emphatically  —  ore 
rotunda,  that  the  exertion  thus  induced,  together  with  his 
plethoric  habit,  rendered  the  public  services  of  the  Church 
tedious  and  laborious  to  himself  and  to  his  hearers.  But 
it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  these  circumstances  did  not 
tend  to  the  improvement  of  his  sermons  by  rendering 
them  shorter.  In  private  life,  the  bishop,  though  studious 
and  retired  in  his  habits,  and  in  mixed  companies  oppressed 
by  diffidence,  was  certainly  more  agreeable,  and  a  greater 
favorite,  than  in  public,  lie  possessed  a  vein  of  genuine 
humor,  which  gave  zest  to  his  conversation  without  infring- 
ing upon  clerical  or  conventional  propriety  —  and  the  play- 
fulness of  his  manner  when  surrounded  by  his  family  and 
intimate  friends,  was  quite  captivating.  He  was  particu- 
larly condescending  and  attraetive  in  his  intercourse  with 
the  young;  with  whose  tastes  and  feelings,  from  the 
simplicity  of  his  own  character,  lie  could  more  easily 
sympathize.  I  shall  ever  gratefully  remember  his  kindness 
to  me  as  a  boy,  and  the  companion  of  his  sous.  He  would 
frequently  admit  us  all  to  his  study  —  the  upper  room  in 
the  back  building  of  ihe  house  which  stood  at  the  corner 
of  Xassau  and  Fair  (now  Fulton)  street,  where  the  large 
establishment  of  the  Sun  newspaper  has  been  since 
erected — when  he  would  show  us  his  rarest  and  most 
valuable  prints,  exhibit  to  us  the  objects  of  his  microscope, 


18  REMINISCENCES  OF 

and  divert  himself  with  our  youthful  wonderment ;  and 
sometimes  of  a  bright  starlight  evening,  he  would  display 
to  us  the  more  fascinating  wonders  of  his  telescope,  and 
from  his  serious  and  impressive  explanations  he  seemed  to 
derive  a  graver  and  more  holy  pleasure  from  our  curiosity 
and  admiration.  I  thought,  at  that  time,  that  Bishop 
Provoost  was  perfection  itself,  but  before  many  years  had 
elapsed,  I  discovered  that  he  was  but  a  man.  His  faults, 
however,  were  those  of  one  whom  he  resembled  both  in 
character  and  station.  Like  Eli  of  old,  he  was  ever  indulg- 
ent to  his  sons  —  and  like  Eli,  he  was  punished  by  their 
loss. 

His  assistants  in  Trinity  Church  were,  the  Rev.  Benja- 
min Moore,  already  mentioned,  and  the  Rev.  Abraham 
Beach.  The  former  succeeded,  as  is  well  known,  Doctor 
Provoost,  both  as  Rector  of  Trinity  and  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese.  The  latter  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  was 
also  among  the  few,  who,  like  Bishop  Provoost,  was  found 
faithful  to  his  country  at  the  Revolution.  He  was  elected 
an  assistant  minister  by  the  same  vestry  who  had  chosen 
Dr.  Provoost  as  Rector.  Upon,  the  death  of  Dr.  Moore, 
Dr.  Beach  declined  the  Bishopric,  but  accepted  the  Rector- 
ship of  Trinity  Church.  He  held  it,  however,  but  a  short 
time,  when  he  retired  to  his  farm,  near  ~New  Brunswick, 
New  Jersey,  where  he  died,  after  attaining  a  good  old  age ; 
affording,  in  his  death,  the  same  Christian  example  that 
he  had  exhibited  throughout  his  life. 

Several  years  anterior  to  that  event,  a  third  assistant 
minister  was  chosen  for  Trinity  Church  and  its  chapels, 
St.  George's  and  St.  Paul's.  This  was  the  Rev.  John 
Bissett  —  a  more  eloquent  and  powerful  preacher,  perhaps, 
if  not  a  more  popular  one,  than  any  preceding  or  succeed- 
ing him  in  the  office.  He  was  a  Scotchman  by  birth,  and 
his  tongue  would  literally  have  refused  its  office,  had  he 
ever  attempted  to  deny  his  country.    Besides  being  an 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


19 


excellent  preacher,  he  was  what,  indeed,  was  requisite  to 
make  him  such,  a  sound  divine,  and  a  ripe  and  good 
scholar.  For  some  years,  during  his  connection  with 
Trinity  Church,  he  held  the  Professorship  of  Rhetoric  and 
Belles  Lettres  in  Columbia  College.  He  was,  moreover, 
a  hatchelor,  and  his  preaching  was  found  to  he  most 
attractive  to  the  young — ladies.  "With  one  of  his  fair 
auditresses,  it  was  his  misfortune,  as  it  proved,  to  fall  in 
love,  and  the  ill  success  attending  his  suit  drove  him  to 
seek  consolation  —  not  where  it  was  most  natural  that  a 
clergyman,  befoi-e  all  others  should  seek  it  —  but  from  that 
last  resource  of  the  desperate  sensualist  —  the  bottle  !  This 
soon  compelled  his  resignation.  He  returned,  then,  to  his 
native  country ;  and  not  many  years  afterwards,  I  met  and 
accosted  him  in  the  streets  of  London.  He  recognized  me 
at  once,  though,  in  the  interval,  I  had  passed  from  youth 
to  manhood ;  but  he  evinced  no  pleasure  at  the  meeting. 
He  was  pale  and  emaciated,  and  his  whole  appearance  was 
strikingly  that  of  a  broken  down  gentleman.  He  made 
some  inquiries  respecting  his  former  acquaintances  in  New 
York,  and  informed  me  that  he  was  employed  as  a  cor- 
rector of  the  press.  Judging  from  his  looks  and  conversa- 
tion, that  he  had  reformed,  I  gave  him  my  address,  and 
invited  him  to  dine  with  me  at  a  coffee  house  in  the 
neighborhood,  but  he  declined,  and  I  saw  him  no  more.  I 
have  since  heard  that  he  is  dead. 

The  other  prominent  clergymen  of  the  day  were,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  John  Christopher  Kunze,  Professor  of  the  Oriental 
Languages  in  Columbia  College — the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Daniel 
Gross,  Professor  of  the  German  Language,  and  of  Moral 
Philosophy  in  the  same  Institution  —  and  the  Rev.  John 
M'Kuight,  the  successor  of  Domine  Gross,  as  he  was  com- 
monly called,  in  the  latter  Professorship.  The  two  former 
of  these  dignitaries  were  natives  of  Germany ;  the  one  was 
Pastor  of  the  Swamp  Church ;  the  other,  of  Baron's  Church, 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


from  its  being  the  place  of  worship  of  the  Baron  do  Steu- 
ben. It  Avas  afterwards  converted  to  profane  uses  as  a 
shop.  Dr.  M'Knight  was  a  Presbyterian  and  Officiated  at 
the  Brick-mo  ting. 

More  eminent  as  preachers,  than  either  of  these,  were 
the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Linn,  and  the  Eev.  Dr.  John  N. 
Abeel,  both  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church.  The  former 
was  an  able  controversial  writer,  and  distinguished  himself 
in  a  polemical  contest  with  Bishop  Moore,  which  termi- 
nated, as  satisfactorily  and  profitably  as  most  controversies 
of  the  kind.  Dr.  Linn,  who  was  the  assailant,  will 
probably  be  more  favorably  remembered  as  the  father  of 
the  late  Rev.  John  Blair  Linn,  the  Poet,  as  well  as  the 
Divine. 


[From  the  American  Mail,  Saturday,  June  26, 1847.] 

NUMBER  FOUR. 

Having  in  my  last  number  availed  myself  of  the  benefit 
of  Clergy,  I  am  the  better  prepared  to  encounter  the 
lawyers  of  the  old  City  Hall,  which  was  the  next  conspi- 
cuous object  in  view,  from  our  station  in  front  of  Trinity 
Church. 

It  stood  at  the  head  of  Broad  street,  nearly  opposite  the 
site  of  the  present  magnificent  custom  house,  encroaching 
a  little  upon  the  present  lines  both  of  Wall  and  Xassau 
street.  It  was  raised  upon  arches,  which  were  open,  except 
a  small  space  reserved  for  a  staircase,  so  that  the  passengers 
in  both  those  streets  passed  under  it.  The  city  of  New 
York  was  then  the  seat  of  the  State  Government ;  as  also 
frequently  that  of  the  old  Congress ;  and  it  often  happened 


A.V  OLD  YORKER. 


21 


that  the  State  and  Continental,  and  sometimes  the  City 
Legislatures  were  in  session  at  the  same  time.  When  this 
was  the  case,  the  State  Legislature  sat  in  tlie  old  Exchange, 
in  the  room  afterwards  converted  into  the  Museum, —  as  did 
the  Common  Council  also,  when  the  Courts  were  sitting 
at  the  City  Hall. 

Upon  the  adoption  of  the  present  Federal  Constitution, 
the  old  Hall  was  enlarged,  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
new  Congress.  The  plan  was  devised  by  Major  L 'Enfant, 
a  French  engineer  of  some  taste  and  celebrity  as  an  archi- 
tect; and  besides  being  well  adapted  for  the  purpose 
intended,  the  old  building  was  improved  in  its  appearance, 
particularly  by  the  addition  of  the  fine  Doric  Portico  in 
front,  under  which  General  Washington  took  the  oath  of 
office,  and  was  proclaimed  the  first  President  of  the  PTnited 
States.  By  another  addition  in  the  rear,  sufficient  room 
was  obtained  for  the  Courts. 

Before  these  alterations,  and  at  the  period  referred  to  in 
the  outset,  Robert  R.  Livingston  was  Chancellor.  To  this 
office  he  was  appointed  upon  its  creation,  by  the  Constitu- 
tion of  1778.  During  the  earlier  period  of  his  term,  and 
until  the  adoption  of  the  present  Federal  Constitution,  he 
held,  also,  the  office  of  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  under 
the  Congress  of  the  Confederation.  This  he  was  well 
enabled  to  do,  as  the  business  of  the  Court  of  Chancery 
was  at  that  time  very  inconsiderable.  Most  of  it  was 
despatched  at  the  private  dwelling  of  the  Chancellor,  who 
had  seldom  occasion  to  visit  the  City  Hall.  The  circum- 
stance which  gave  the  greatest  distinction  to  Mr.  Livingston, 
while  Chancellor,  w^s  his  administration  of  the  oath  of 
office  to  General  Washington,  upon  his  inauguration  as 
President. 

Upon  being  appointed  Minister  to  France  by  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son, Mr.  Livingston  resigned  as  Chancellor,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  John  Lansing,  jr.,  then  Chief  Justice  of  the 


22 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


Supreme  Court — a  respectable  and  gentlemanly  lawyer 
of  the  old  school,  and  of  the  purest  Dutch  blood.  Upon 
his  attaining  the  age  of  sixty  years,  he  was  superseded  by 
the  operations  of  the  article  of  the  Constitution  then  in 
force,  which  limited  the  capacity  of  judicial  officers  to  that 
period.  He  was  succeeded  by  James  Kent,  who,  from 
being  Recorder  of  the  city,  and  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  has  succeeded  Mr.  Lansing  as  Chief  Justice. 
The  Court  of  Chancery  now  assumed  an  importance  com- 
mensurate with  the  learning  and  ability  exhibited  in 
the  administration  of  its  functions.  Its  business  and 
popularity  increased  in  equal  proportion,  until  the  one, 
by  its  accumulation,  under  the  successors  of  Mr.  Kent, 
has  extinguished  the  other.  But  de  mortuis  nil  nisi 
bonum. 

The  Supreme  Court  at  the  commencement  of  tbis 
period  consisted  of  four  judges :  Richard  Morris,  who  had 
succeeded  John  Jay,  as  Chief  Justice,  and  Robert  Yates, 
John  Sloss  Hobart,  and  John  Lansing,  jr.,  as  Puisne 
Justices.  Upon  attaining  the  age  of  sixty,  Chief  Justice 
Morris  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Justice  Yates.  Aaron  Burr, 
who  had  been  Attorney  General,  and  was  now  a  member 
of  the  United  States  Senate,  was  first  nominated  to  the 
vacant  seat  on  the  bench,  but  declined;  and  Morgan 
Lewis,  then  Attorney  General,  was  appointed.  So,  also, 
when  the  term  of  Chief  Justice  Yates  expired,  Mr. 
Justice  Lansing  was  promoted  to  that  office,  and  held 
it  until  the  resignation  of  Robei't  R.  Livingston,  whom 
he  was  appointed  to  succeed  as  Chancellor.  Mr.  Jus- 
tice Lewis  was  at  the  same  time  promoted  to  be  Chief 
Justice ;  and  the  Legislature  having  in  the  meantime  made 
provision  for  a  fifth  judge,  Egbert  Benson,  who  had  been 
Attorney  General  during  the  Revolution,  received  the 
appointment. 

When  the  seats  of  Chief  Justice  Yates  and  Mr.  Justice 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


23 


Hobart,  (who  was  also  superannuated  by  the  Constitution) 
became  vacant,  the  former  retired  to  private  life,  and  did 
not  long  survive.  The  latter  was  first  elected  to  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  and  afterwards  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  Judge  of  the  United  States  District  Court,  which 
he  held  until  his  death.  To  these  vacancies  succeeded 
James  Kent,  and,  in  the  first  instance,  John  Cozine,  but  he 
dying  before  taking  his  seat,  Jacob  Radcliff  was  appointed 
in  his  stead.  Judge  Benson  resigned  in  1801,  upon  being 
appointed  Chief  J udge  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court, 
under  the  short-lived  judiciary  system,  adopted  at  the  close 
of  the  elder  Adams's  administration,  and  abolished  at  the 
opening  of  Jefferson's.  There  was,  therefore,  again  two 
vacancies  upon  the  bench,  to  fill  which,  Brockholst  Liv- 
ingston and  Smith  Thompson  were  appointed.  The  Court 
then  consisted  of  Lewis,  Chief  Justice,  and  Kent,  Radcliff, 
Livingston  and  Thompson,  Puisne  Justices,  than  which,  a 
stronger  and  a  purer,  never  sat  in  this  State. 

The  bar,  during  this  period,  was  no  less  eminent  in  cha- 
racter and  talents.  The  elder  Samuel  Jones,  Alexander 
Hamilton,  Aaron  Burr,  Richard  Harrison,  John  Cozine, 
Robert  Troup,  Brockholst  Livingston,  and  Josiah  Ogden 
Hoffman,  were  its  brightest  ornaments.  The  first  belonged 
to  the  former  part  of  this  period,  the  last  began  his  career 
towards  its  close.  "  Old  Mr.  Jones  "  had  been  a  tory,  and 
like  many  of  his  party,  he  became  an  anti-federalist.  As 
the  political  friend  of  Governor  George  Clinton,  he  was 
appointed  by  him  Recorder  of  the  city  ;  but  when  the  anti- 
federalists  degenerated  into  democrats,  and, for  a  season,  lost 
their  ascendency  in  the  State,  Mr.  Jones  attached  himself 
to  the  federal  party,  and  was  soon  afterwards  appointed  by 
Governor  Jay,  Comptroller  of  the  State.  He  was  an  old- 
fashioned,  black-letter  lawyer,  and  mistook  his  vocation 
when  he  became  a  politician.  To  the  reputation  of  an 
orator,  or  any  other  distinction  as  an  advocate,  save  that 


24 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


derived  from  laborious  and  faithful  devotion  to  the  causes 
of  his  clients,  he  never  pretended.  He  was  most  distin- 
guished for  his  familiarity  with  the  abstruser  doctrines  of 
the  law,  and  his  most  lucrative  practice  was  as  chamber 
counsel,  and  special  pleader.  He  was  generally  employed 
in  that  branch  of  conveyancing,  which  consisted  in  drawing 
wills  and  other  family  settlements,  as  he  possessed,  in  a 
superior  degree,  the  learning  requisite  for  those  purposes. 

Hamilton  was  better  versed  in  public  and  international 
law,  and  the  general  principles  of  ethical  jurisprudence, 
than  with  the  common  law.  He  was,  indeed,  more  of  an 
orator  than  a  lawyer,  and  more  of  a  statesman  than  either. 
His  oratory  was  graceful,  fluent,  animated  and  impassioned. 
His  style  was  diffuse,  but  never  heavy  or  obscure;  and  as 
an  Advocate,  he  displayed  the  qualities  which  distinguished 
him  as  a  man.  In  his  professional  character,  he  was  bold, 
frank,  courteous,  fertile  of  resources,  and  in  the  discussion 
and  illustration  of  facts  and  character,  exhibited  a  deep 
insight  into  the  human  heart.  As  an  individual,  his  lead- 
ing characteristics  were  magnanimity,  candor  and  benevo- 
lence of  heart,  vigor  aud  brilliancy  of  imagination,  strength, 
comprehensiveness,  and  ductility  of  mind;  all  regulated  by 
principle,  and  sustained  by  incorruptible  integrity. 

His  competitor  at  the  bar,  and  deadly  adversary  in 
politics,  was  Burr,  who  exhibited  a  complete  contrast  to 
him  in  character,  both  professional  and  personal.  "Wary, 
cool,  supercilious,  artificial  and  imposing  in  his  manner, 
close  and  dispassionate  in  reasoning,  curt  and  severe  in  his 
language,  he  confined  himself  in  argument  to  a  few  strong 
and  prominent  points.  By  this  adroit  use  of  the  talents  he 
actually  possessed,  he  contrived  to  pass  for  much  more  than 
he  was  really  worth.  To  principle,  either  in  politics  or 
morals,  he  never  made  pretence.  So  that  his  merit,  if  he 
had  any,  consisted  in  not  being  a  hypocrite. 

Harrison  was  the  most  accomplished  scholar  of  the  group. 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


■2o 


He  was,  moreover,  a  sound  lawyer,  and  a  plausible,  Jf  not 
a  pleasing*  speaker ;  though  at  times,  the  native  acidity  of 
his  temper  would  effervesce  in  pithy  sallies  and  petulant 
contradiction.  He  succeeded  James  Kent,  the  successor 
of  Jones,  as  Eecorder,  and  his  refinement  and  urbanity 
were  as  conspicuous  on  the  bench  as  in  private  society. 
Mr.  Harrison  was  appointed  by  General  Washington  the 
first  District  Attorney  of  the  United  States  for  New  York. 
This  distinction  he  owed  as  much  to  the  policy  as  to  the 
friendship  of  Hamilton.  It  was  certainly  justified  by  his 
standing  at  the  bar,  in  point,  both  of  eminence  and  age,  to 
which  latter  circumstance  may,  in,  part,  be  ascribed  his 
preference  to  Cozine.  The  objection  to  him,  .was,  that  he 
was  a  tory,  and  had  adhered  to  the  British  during  the 
Revolution.  Yet  this  was  the  principal  reason  for  select- 
ing him.  It  was  the  desire  of  the  general  government  to 
evince  a  liberality  equal  to  that  of  Governor  Clinton,  by 
whose  influence  the  Americans  who  had  remained  in  the 
city,  while  in  possession  of  the  British  army,  were,  after 
the  peace,  suffered,  upon  taking  an  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  State,  to  continue  their  residence  in  it,  instead  of 
removing  to  the  asylum  provided  for  them  in  Nova  Scotia. 

Cozine,  in  character,  manners,  and  appearance,  formed 
a  staking  contrast  to  the  courtly  Harrison.  He  was  a  good 
off-hand-case  lawyer,  and  appeared  more  at  home  at  Nisi 
Prixs,  than  at  Bar.  Good  humored,  and  easy  in  his  tem- 
per, he  was  somewhat  inclined  to  indolence  and  good 
living  —  his  propensities  to  which  manifested  themselves  in 
hilarity  and  corpulence.  As  an  advocate  he  stood  foremost 
in  the  second  rank,  and  was  selected  by  Governor  Jay  as  a 
Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  but  died  before  taking  his 
seat  on  the  bench,  when  Jacob  Radcliff  was  appointed  to 
fill  the  vacancy,  as  has  been  mentioned. 

Troup,  in  many  respects,  resembled  Cozine.  He  was 
equally  good  humored  and  amiable,  and  had  as  hearty  a 
4 


2Q 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


laugh.  Though  not  a  better  lawyer,  he  possessed  more 
general  information,  and  had  seen  more  of  the  world. 
Upon  the  death  of  James  Duane,  the  first  District  Judge  of 
the  United  States  for  New  York, —  Troup  was  appofnted  to 
succeed  him,  hut  did  not  remain  long  in  the  office,  prefer- 
ring to  return  to  the  more  lucrative  business  of  the  bar. 
This  be  afterwards  relinquished  for  the  still  more  profitable 
employment  of  Agent  for  the  Pultney  estate,  on  obtaining 
which,  he  removed  to  Geneva — and  after  residing  there 
some  year*  he  returned  again  to  New  York,  where  he  sub- 
sequently died  at  a  good  old  age. 

Next  in  order  of  seniority  —  though  superior  in  natural 
and  acquired  talents  to  either  Troup  or  Cozine  —  was 
Brockholst  Livingston.  He  was  the  son  of  Governor 
Livingston  of  New  Jersey,  by  whom  his  education  was 
carefully  directed.  As  a  scholar  "  he  was  a  ripe  and  good 
one,"  a  well  read  lawyer,  an  able  advocate,  a  fluent  and 
correct  speaker.  In  early  life,  he,  as  well  as  Hamilton, 
Burr,  and  Troup,  had  served  in  the  army,  but  as  he  did 
not  enter  it  so  early,  or  continue  in  it  so  long  as  either  of 
them,  he  had  been  enabled  to  apply  himself  earlier  and 
longer  to  the  study  of  the  law.  At  the  adoption  of  the  present 
national  Constitution,  he  was  a  Federalist ;  but  went  over 
to  the  opposite  party  with  his  friend  and  relative  %the 
Chancellor.  At  that  period  he  was  violent  (as,  indeed, 
were  all)  in  his  political  feelings  and  conduct ;  and  had  the 
misfortune,  like  Burr,  to  be  engaged  in  a  duel,  and  killed 
his  man.  But  the  effect  upon  his  after  life  and  character 
was  very  different,  from  tbe  sullen  desperation,  and  re- 
morseless hardihood  which  marked  the  career  of  Burr, 
after  the  death  of  Hamilton.  The  mortal  wound  inflicted 
by  the  hand  of  Livingston  led  him  to  repentance,  and  to 
the  open  and  sincere  profession  of  Christianity,  in  which 
faith  he  died  in  communion  with  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church.    From  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  this 


AH  OLD  YORKER. 


■27 


State,  he  had  heen  transferred  some  years  before  his  death 
to  that  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  In 
this  station  he  added  to  the  reputation  he  had  before 
acquired.  He  had  ever  been  remarkable  as  a  judge,  for 
his  perfect  freedom  from  that  besetting  sin  of  judges,  pride 
of  opinion :  and  in  his  new  station  he  continued  to  be  as 
much  as  ever  celebrated  for  his  versatility.  As  a  proof  of 
this,  his  venerable  friend,  the  late  Chief  Justice  Marshall, 
used  to  take  great  pleasure  in  relating  an  instance  in  which 
Judge  Livingston  was  the  only  member  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  who,  on  one  occasion  was  in  favor  of  reversing  a 
decision  of  the  Circuit  Court  made  by  himself. 

The  only  member  of  the  fraternity  it  remains  to  notice 
is  Josiah  Ogden  Hoffman,  who  was  younger  than  any  of 
the  others,  and  long  survived  them  all.  He  acquired  a 
high  standing  at  the  bar  early  in  life  —  not  so  much  for 
his  learning  in  the  law,  "or  eloquence,  though  both  were 
considerable,  as  from  his  facility  and  tact  in  business.  He 
never  seemed  to  apply  himself  to  it,  out  of  court,  yet  he 
was  never  unprepared  when  he  came  into  it.  He  was 
perhaps,  the  best  Nisi  Prius  lawyer  of  his  day,  and  though 
always  forcible  in  arguing  questions  of  law,  his  forte  was 
in  the  examination  of  witnesses,  and  the  management  of 
juries.  He  was  appointed  Attorney  General  by  Mr.  Jay, 
and  held  the  office  until  the  political  revolution  in  1801, 
when  the  Federalists  lost  their  power  both  in  the  State 
and  General  Government.  Many  years  afterwards,  during 
the  administration  of  Tompkins,  he  was  appointed  by  a 
Federal  Council,  Recorder  of  this  city,  and  proved  as  able 
a  judge  as  he  had  been  an  advocate.  At  the  next  turn  of 
the  wheel  he  was  removed,  and  when  this  was  followed  by 
another  revolution  which  placed  De  Witt  Clinton  in  the 
chair  of  state  by  Federal  votes,  as  Mr.  Hoffman  had  been 
more  active  and  effectual  in  procuring  them  for  him,  than 
any  other  individual  of  the  party,  it  was  expected  of  course 


28 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


that  lie  would  be  restored  to.his  former  office.  But,  not- 
withstanding the  gratitude  Mr.  Clinton  professed  for  this 
and  other  services  both  public  and  private,  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  everybody,  he  bestowed  the  office  upon  another 
Federalist.  But  the  high  character  and  attainments  of 
Peter  A.  Jay  to  whom  he  gave  it,  seemed  to  reconcile 
every  body  but  poor  Hoffman  himself,  to  his  disappoint- 
ment. He  had  presided  so  long  in  the  city  Courts,  and 
devoted  himself  so  exclusively  to  his  office,  that  he  entirely 
lost  his  practice  at  the  bar,  and  the  treatment  he  had 
received  affected  him  severely.  It  was  no  wonder  then 
that  he  arrayed  himself  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Clinton,  espe- 
cially when,  besides  turning  his  back  upon  Hoffman,  that 
gentleman  opposed  the  reelection  of  Mr.  King  to  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States. 

It  is  honorable  to  the  Democrats  of  this  city,  that  they 
sympathized  with  Hoffman,  and  resented  tbe  ingratitude 
of  Clinton.  Upon  the  establishment  of  the  Superior  Court 
in  this  city,  they  procured  for  him  the  appointment  of 
one  of  its  judges,  and  in  the  able  discharge  of  its  duties 
he  continued  until  his  death. 

Before  quitting  the  old  City  Hall,  it  remains  to  add 
some  notice  of  the  Mayors  who  presided  there  in  the 
Common  Council,  and  as  judges  of  the  courts  of  Common 
Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions.  The  first  after  the  revolu- 
tionary war  was  James  Duane,  a  lawyer  by  profession,  and 
eminent  in  it  before  the  Revolution.  During  the  war,  he 
was  frequently  a  member  of  Congress,  and  upon  the 
adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution  was,  I  have  already 
had  occasion  to  mention,  appointed  the  first  District  Judge 
of  the  United  States  for  New  York.  In  all  these  im- 
portant stations,  he  was  distinguished  for  patriotism, 
learning,  ability  and  integrity.  He  died  about  the  year 
1794^ 

Richard  Varick,  then  Recorder  of  the  city,  succeeded 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


39 


Mr.  Duane  as  Major.  He  had  been  an  officer  in  the 
Revolution,  and  became  a  lawyer  afterwards.  He  was  an 
able  but  severe  magistrate,  an  upright  and  hpnorable  man, 
somewhat  austere  and  lofty  in  his  manner,  but  humane 
and  charitable  in  his  disposition  and  conduct.  He  accu- 
mulated a  large  fortune,  contributed  liberally  to  public 
institutions,  particularly  those  connected  with  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church,  to  which  he  belonged  —  and  dying 
childless,  he  bequeathed  his  property  to  his  nearest  surviv- 
ing relatives.'  He  was  superseded  at  the  peaceful  revolution 
of  1801,  by  Edward  Livingston,  a  younger  brother  of  the 
Chancellor,  under  whose  short  lived  administration  the  old 
City  Hall  was  abandoned,  and  the  new  one  in  the  Park 
opened.  Mr.  Livingston  wa^s  bred  to  the  bar,  and  elected  to 
Congress  before  he  had  been  long  in  practice.  With  Ins 
Mayoralty  he  held  also  the  office  of  District  Attorney  of 
the  United  States,  which  he  received  from  Mr.  Jefferson, 
in  favor  of  whom  he  gave  the  casting  vote  of  the  New 
York  delegates  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  at  the 
contested  election  between  the  two  Democratic  candidates, 
Jefferson  and  Burr.  He  distinguished  himself  for  his 
fearless  and  humane  conduct  during  the  yellow  fever  of 
1803,  when  he  caught  the  disorder  himself.  Upon  his 
recovery,  finding" his  affairs  embarrassed,  he  resolved  upon 
removing  to  New  Orleans,  where  he  was  successful  in  the 
pursuit  of  his  profession,  and  eventually  in  his  speculation 
in  the  batture  —  though  he  had  in  the  first  instance  been 
arbitrarily  turned  out  of  its  possession,  by  Mr.  Jefferson  — 
whose  conduct  on  the  occasion  he  so  ably  exposed  in  his 
publication  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Livingston  subsequently 
attained  to  high  political  distinction  in  New  Orleans,  in 
consequence  of  the  support  he  gave  General  Jackson  upon 
its  invasion  by  the  British.  He  was  shortly  afterwards 
elected  as  one  of  the  senators  in  Congress  from  Louisiana, 
and  subsequently  appointed  Secretary  of  State,  and  Minis- 


30 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


ter  to  France.  Hot  long  after  his  return  from  his  mission, 
he  died  at  his  seat  on  the  North  river.  He  left  behind 
him  an  enduring  monument  of  his  learning  and  talents  as 
a  jurist,  in  the  Civil  Code  he  compiled  for  the  state  of 
Louisiana.  » 

De  Witt  Clinton  succeeded  Mr.  Livingston  in  the 
Mayoralty,  and  held  the  office  —  off  and  on  —  for  a  number 
of  years;  he  was  once  superseded  by  Marinus  Willett, 
the  celebrated  partizan  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  twice 
by  Jacob  Radcliff,  of  whom  all  that  need  be  said  was 
anticipated  when  speaking  of  him  as  a  judge. 

Subsequent  to  the  last  Mayoralty  of  Mr.  Clinton,  the 
office  was  made  elective,  since  which,  his  successors  have 
been  too  numerous  to  specify,  and  too  well  known  to  need 
description. 

Peregrine  Mindful. 

Markctfield  street,  June  18,  1847. 


[From  the  American  Mail,  Saturday,  July  3, 1847.] 

NUMBER  FIVE. 

Leaving  now  the  spot  at  which  we  have  so  long  lingered, 
and  pursuing  our  course  up  Broadway,  we  are  soon 
arrested  in  our  walk  by  the  City  Tavern  —  kept  in  those 
days  by  one  Cape,  and  afterwards,  for  some  years,  by  Mr. 
Corre,  who,  upon  quitting  it,  established  himself  at  the 
Mount  Vernon  Garden,  in  the  country,  somewhere  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Broadway,  near  Leonard  and  Franklin 
streets;  but  afterwards  made  a  luckier  remove  to  the 
Battery,  where  he  made  his  fortune. 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


31 


Passing  onward,  we  pass  Little  Queen  (now  Cedar), 
Crown  (now  Liberty),  and  arrive  at  Courtlandt  street  — 
not  yet  completely  regulated  and  opened  to  the  river. 
The  Powles  Hook  Ferry  was,  nevertheless,  kept  at  the 
foot  of  it.  But  the  ferry  house  stood  at  the  corner  of 
Greenwich  street,  and  the  road  to  it  turned  in  from  Broad- 
way, near  the  corner  of  Liberty  street,  and  thence  round 
down  to  the  river.  At  the  lower  corner  of  Broadway  and 
Courtlandt  street,  lived  "  Bogert  the  baker,"  celebrated  for 
the  best  crackers  and  biscuits  in  town  —  superior  even  to 
those  of  his  rival  Hans  Wandle,  in  Broad  street.  On  the 
upper  corner  was  the  shop  of  Manasseh  Salter,  as  famous 
in  its  day  as  is  now  the  Palladian  Bazaar  of  Alexander 
Stewart.  Immediately  opposite,  at  the  head  of  Maiden 
Lane,  and  extending  down  one  side,  nearly  to  Little  Green 
street,  stood  the  Oswego  Market,  the  third  in  point  of 
seniority  and  rank  in  the  city ;  the  first  being  the  Fly,  and 
the  second,  the  Bear,  both  of  which  we  shall  visit  in  due 
time. 

After  the  butchers  and  hucksters  had  cleared  out,  the 
Oswego  market  was,  in  the  afternoon,  the  headquarters  of 
the  "  Broadway  boys ;  "  for  we  youngsters  of  that  day 
divided  into  no  less  than  three  geographical  parties,  each 
of  which  were  occasionally  subdivided  into  personal  fac- 
tions —  whence  it  doubtless  is,  that  some  of  us,  since  we 
grew  up,  have  followed  that  same  practice  of  subdivision 
and  triangular  warfare.  The  "  Broadway  boys,"  to  which 
I  belonged,  was  the  smallest  and  most  aristocratic  of  the 
three  great  parties.  That  of  Smith's  Fly,  or  more  properly 
Vley,  its  bounds  being  comprised  within  the  business  part 
of  the  city,  was  the  most  numerous  —  and  that  of  the 
Bowery  boys  the  most  sturdy  and  democratic.  Frequent 
and  severe  were  the  conflicts  between  these  belligerent 
parties  —  armed  as  they  were,  like  David  of  old,  with  sling 
and  stones.    At  furs*  the  forces  of  Smith's  Fly  and  Broad- 


32 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


way  took  the  street  against  each  other,  and  dire  was  the 
hostility  between  them.  But  the  gallantry  of  the  latter 
proved,  at  length,  a  match  for  the  superior  numbers  of 
their  foes,  and  produced  frequent  drawn  battles,  which  led 
to  a  pacification  and  alliances  between  them  —  upon 
honorable  terms  of  equality  and  reciprocity.  They  then 
combined  their  forces  against  the  rising  power  in  the 
north,  with  whom  they  had  each  separately  contended, 
the  dissemination  of  whose  principles  they  dreaded,  and 
whose  strength,  from  the  rapid  increase  of  population  in 
that  quarter,  threatened  to  overwhelm  their  southern  and 
more  civilized  neighbors.  In  the  last  battle,  in  which  I 
was  engaged  between  these  northern  hordes  and  their 
allies,  the  latter  succeeded  in  driving  the  enemy  from  their 
strong  hold  of  Bunker's  Hill  since  demolished  to  make 
way  for  Grand  street.  We  took  tins  important  post  by 
storm,  and  our  success  produced  a  cessation  of  hostilities. 

The  remembrance  of  this  engagement,  together  with  the 
circumstance  of  our  arrival  at  St.  Paul's  Church,  forcibly 
reminds  me  of  a  much  more  serious  and  bloody  battle 
which  I  had  witnessed  at  that  place  some  years  before, 
between  a  party  of  militia  and  the  mob  —  long  remembered 
as  the  "  Doctor's  mob."  I  saw  the  charge  made  by  Cap- 
tain Stake,  at  tbe  head  of  his  troop  of  light  horse,  composed 
of  jolly  butchers  like  himself,  upon  a  dense  column  of  the 
mobocracy,  as  it  was  upon  the  point  of  debouching  from 
"  the  fields  "  (now  the  Park),  into  Broadway.  There  was 
then  no  fence  in  front  of  the  church,  except  a  wooden 
hand  rail  at  the  edge  of  the  side  walk,  which  was  enclosed 
at  each  end  by  a  turnstile.  This  defence  soon  yielded  to 
the  pressure  of  the  mob,  who  were  driven  by  the  light 
horse  men  through  the  portico  into  the  church  yard. 

Although  the  population  of  the  city  did  not  then  amount 
to  40,000,  this  mob  was  larger  and  more  formidable  than  " 
any  that  has  since  assembled  to  frighten  our  women  and 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


33 


children  from  tlicir  propriety.  The  cause  which  gave  rise  to 
it,  was  indeed,  of  a  nature  to  enlist  the  feeling  of  a  higher 
class  of  persons  than  is  usually  found  in  mohs.  It  originated 
from'the  indiscretion  of  one  of  the  younger  surgeons  at  the 
hospital,  in  reference  to  a  boy  whose  curiosity  had  prompted 
him  to  climb  a  ladder  placed  against  the  building  for  the 
purpose  of  some  repairs,  and  peep  into  the  window  of 
the  dissecting  room.  The  operator,  on  perceiving  him, 
exhibited  to  him  a  human  arm,  and  told  him  it  was 
his  mother's.  It  happened  unfortunately,. that  the  boy's 
mother  had  died  not  long  before,  and  was  buried  in  Trinity 
church  yard,  and,  taking  the  Doctor  at  his  word,  he  set 
off  to  inform  his  father  who  was  at  work  as  a  mason,  at 
Macomb's  buildings  in  13  roadway.  He  repeated  his  son's 
story  to  his  comrades  —  who  seizing  such  of  their  tools  as 
they  could  best  use  as  weapons,  followed  their  leader  in  a 
body  to  the  hospital.  Their  force  increased  as  they  ad- 
vanced, and  when  they  arrived  there,  meeting  with  no 
resistance,  they  proceeded  to  ransack  the  building  through- 
out. Several  subjects  were  discovered  in  various  states  ot 
dissection,  but  none  that  could  be  identified.  It  was  then 
proposed  to  examine  the  grave  in  which  the  body,  to  which 
the  arm  in  question  was  supposed  to  have  belonged  had 
been  laid ;  and  accordingly  the  whole  party,  with  the  new 
reinforcements  it  gathered  on  the  way,  proceeded  to  the 
church  yard.  On  opening  the  grave,  it  was  found  empty ; 
and  the  exasperation  of  the  mob  was  raised  to  a  perfect 
frenzy.  It  was  forthwith  resolved  to  repair  to  the  dwell- 
ings of  the  Doctors,  in  search  of  subjects,  and  with  threats 
of  making  them.  The  first  house  they  visited  was  that 
of  Dr.  Cochrane,  nearly  opposite  to  the  church;  but  they 
found  nothing  there,  although  they  ransacked  it  from  the 
cellar  to  the  garret.  Fortunately,  they  omitted  to  open 
the  scuttle  and  look  out  upon  the  roof,  or  they  might  have 
executed  their  threat  of  making  more  subjects,  where  they 
6 


34 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


found  but  one,  for  a  certain  Dr.  Hicks,  who  was  vehe- 
mently suspected  to  be  the  guilty  party,  at  the  hospital, 
had  taken  refuge  there,  and  lay  snugly  ensconced  behind 
the  chimney. 

Night  coming  on,  the  search  was  discontinued,  and 
the  mob  in  a  great  measure  dispersed.  Small  parties, 
however,  patrolled  the  streets  during  the  night,  and  the 
next  morning  the  assemblage  was  greater  than  ever.  The 
mob  was  now  joined  by  parties  of  sailors,  headed  by  the 
steward  of  the  British  packet  lying  in  the  harbor,  who 
became  thence  forward  the  ring  leader  of  the  whole  force. 
But  in  the  meantime,  the  militia  had  been  ordered  out, 
and  the  Doctors  had  taken  refuge  in  the  gaol.  There  they 
were  besieged  by  the  mob,  and  were  in  great  jeopardy, 
until  the  siege  was  raised  by  the  military. 

Matters  had  now  assumed  so  serious  an  aspect  as  to 
create  a  general  alarm,  and  call  forth  the  exertions  of  the 
principal  citizens  to  aid  in  restoring  the  public  peace. 
Among  those  who  interposed  their  personal  influence  for 
the  purpose  was  Mr.  Jay,  then  Secretary  of  Foreign  A  flairs 
to  Congress.  In  proceeding  to  the  scene  of  action,  he 
received  a  severe  wound  in  the  head  from  a  stone  thrown 
through  the  glass  of  his  chariot.  Governor  Clinton  [old 
George),  accompanied  by  the  Mayor,  Recorder,  and  some 
of  the  principal  inhabitants  of  the  city,  among  whom  was 
Baron  de  Steuben,  repaired  to  the  gaol,  to  direct  the 
operations  of  the  militia.  As  they  were  passing  along 
Chatham  row,  the  Governor  declared  his  determination  to 
resort  to  the  most  vigorous  and  decisive  measures  for 
(fuelling  the  riot.  The  Baron,  in  the  benevolence  of  his 
heart,  remonstrated  with  the  Governor  against  ordering 
the  militia  to  fire ;  when,  in  the  midst  of  his  harangue 
he  was  struck  in  the  forehead  by  a  brick-bat,  which, 
according  to  the  Governor's  account,  not  only  knocked 
the  good  Baron  down,  but  overset  his  humanity,  and 


AN  OLD  TORKEE. 


35 


brought  his  compassion  with  his  body,  to  the  ground; 
which  he  no  sooner  touched,  then  he  cried  out  lustily, 
"fire !  Governor,  fire !  "  I  saw  the  poor  Baron  brought 
bleeding  into  my  father's  house,  and  after  he  had  retired 
to  have  his  wound  dressed,  I  heard  the  Governor  relate 
the  story. 

As  I  have  bestowed  a  "  number "  upon  each  of  the 
other  learned  professions,  it  is  due  to  the  doctors,  as  I  have 
begun  with  them,  to  notice  them  more  fully.  Among  the 
first,  as  well  as  the  oldest  in  the  profession  at  that  time, 
was  Dr.  John  Bard.  lie  was,  too,  also  one  of  the  most 
noted  for  respectability  and  good  breeding;  for,  if  not 
superior  in  skill  and  learning,  he  excelled  them  all  in 
courtesy  and  politeness.  He  was,  indeed,  the  most  gentle- 
manly of  physicians,  and  the  most  amiable  of  men.  He 
was  descended,  moreover,  from  a  Huguenot  stock,  which 
may  account,  in  some  measure,  for  the  native  polish  of  his 
manners,  though  the  virtues  of  the  heart,  and  among  them 
the  benevolence  from  whence  all  true  politeness  springs, 
belonged  to  him  as  an  individual.  How  well  I  recollect 
the  good  old  gentleman,  faith  his  red  coat  on  Sundays, 
and  his  snuff  colored  suit  during  the  week,  pacing  cheerily 
along  the  streets  —  his  cocked  hat,  often  carried  under  his 
arm,  and  his  gold  headed  cane  twirled  as  gracefully  as 
"Will  Honeycomb  himself — looking  blandly,  speaking 
kindly  and  courteously,  returning  the  salutes  of  his  ac- 
quaintances,  or,  driven  in  his  low  pony  phaeton,  by  his 
faithful  black,  almost  as  venerable  as  himself.  I  recollect 
a  caricature  print  representing  the  old  gentleman  in  the 
little  vehicle,  passing  from  Wall  street  into  Broadway,  just 
as  Frank  Van  Berckel,  the  son  of  the  Dutch  minister,  was 
driving  by  in  a  phfeton  as  remarkable  for  its  elevation  as 
the  Doctor's  for  the  reverse.  The  latter  was  seen  passing 
under  the  body  and  between  the  wheels  of  the  former 
without  touching.    When  the  print  was  shown  to  the 


36 


aEHNISOENOlS  OF 


Doctor  lie  relished  the  humor  of  it  as  much  as  anybody. 
This  estimable  man  lived  to  enjoy  a  green  old  age,  in  the 
retirement  of  his  beautiful  country  residence  on  the  banks 
of  the  North  river,  at  Hyde  Park.  lie  had  with  him 
under  his  roof,  a  distant  relation,  much  older  than  himself, 
who  had  been  a  physician,  but  had  retired  much  earlier 
from  practice.  This  was  Dr.  John  De  Norman  die,  not 
only  like  his  host,  a  Huguenot  by  descent,  but  a  French- 
man by  birth.  He  had  emigrated  to  this  country  eai-ly  in 
life,  although  not  before  receiving  his  professional  educa- 
tion in  France,  and  forming  some  connections  with  persons 
of  literary  distinction  in  that  country,  and  among  others 
with  their  acknowledged  patriarch  Voltaire  himself,  "with 
whom  Dr.  De  Normandie  corresponded  after  he  had  be- 
come a  resident  of  America.  I  once  saw  this  venerable 
relic  of  a'ntiquity,  but  not  before  he  bad  sunk  so  far  into 
second  childhood,  as  to  have  become  insensible  to  the 
kindness  and  tenderness  manifested  to  him  by  his  sur- 
rounding descendants  and  relatives. 

Next  in  seniority,  and  equal  in  reputation  to  Dr.  Bard, 
was  Dr.  J ohn  Cochrane,  who  had  held  a  high  post  in  the 
medical  staff  of  the  American  army  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  He  was  the  brother-in-law  of  General 
Schuyler  —  and  settling  in  this  city  after  the  peace,  he 
enjoyed  the  patronage  of  most  of  the  whig  families. 

Dr.  Thomas  Jones  was,  perhaps,  more  eminent  as  a 
whig  than  as  a  physician.  He  was  a  man  of  fortune,  had 
married  a  Livingston,  and'afterwards  confined  his  practice 
very  much  to  his  family  connections.  He  was  a  brother 
of  Dr.  John  Jones,  of  Philadelphia,  of  revolutionary 
celebrity ;  and  both  were  distinguished  among  their  con- 
temporaries, as  scholars  and  gentlemen. 

Dr.  John  Charlton  had  a  very  respectable  standing  in 
his  profession ;  but  his  practice,  like  that  of  Dr.  Jones,  was 
principally  among  his  family  connections.    He  was  him- 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


37 


self,  I  believe,  an  Englishman;  but  perhaps  I  was  led  to 
that  conclusion  from  his  florid  complexion,  short,  stout 
figure,  and  fondness  for  riding  on  horseback ;  for  greater 
certainty,  therefore,  I  refer  to  his  monumental  tablet  on 
the  inner  wall  of  Trinity  Church,  of  which  he  was,  for 
many  years,  a  vestryman  and  warden.  He  married  into 
the  old  Xew  York  family  of  de  Peyster  (another  of  the 
Huguenot  origin),  and  that  became  connected  with  the 
Van  Homes  and  Clarksons. 

Dr.  Charles  MeKnight,  who  had  served  during  the 
revolution,  as  a  surgeon  in  the  army,  and  married  the 
daughter  of  John  M.  Scott,  a  lawyer  of  eminence,  and 
a  prominent  whig;  was  the  most  eminent  surgeon  of  his 
day,  and  possessed  a  very  extensive  practice  as  a  physician, 
especially  among  the  whig  families :  and  was  esteemed 
equally  skillful  in  both  branches  of  his  profession. 

Drs.  William  Pitt  Smith,  the  first  Health  Officer  of  this 
Port ;  Malachi  Treat,  Samuel  Xicholl,  and  James  Tillary, 
were  each  respectable  in  their  position  as  to  reputation 
and  practice.  Superior  to  any,  except  the  first,  of  these, 
was  Dr.  Richard  P>ayley,  his  successor  in  the  office,  who, 
like  him,  fell  a  jridtim  to  their  duties,  in  the  discharge  of 
which,  they  each,  at  different  periods,  caught  the  yellow 
fever  and  died.  Previous  to  his  acceptance  of  the  office, 
Dr.  Bayley  divided  the  best  practice  in  the  city  with  Dr. 
MeKnight,  and  after  the  decease  of  the  latter  with  Dr. 
Samuel  Bard,  of  whom  I  am  now  to  speak.  After  Dr. 
Bayley 's  death,  he  outstripped  all  other  competitors,  and 
attained  to  greater  eminence  than  any  of  his  predecessors. 
He  was  the  son  of  the  excellent  old  gentleman  first  com- 
memorated, and  as  perfect  a  contrast  to  him,  in  many 
points,  as  can  well  be  imagined.  The  son  was  plain 
spoken,  downright  blunt,  rough  and  abrupt.  The  father, 
as  we  have  seen,  blank,  civil,  courteous  and  polite.  The 
former,  however,  was  not  less  humane  and  benevolent 


38 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


than  the  Latter;  and  if  he  were  more  learned,  scientific, 
and  skillful  in  his  profession,  he  owed  it  to  the  superior 
education,  which  his  father  had  spared  neither  pains  nor 
expense  in  bestowing  upon  him.  After  graduating-  in  the 
Arts  in  Columbia  College,  he  was  sent  to  complete  his 
medical  studies  in  Edinburgh.  Soon  after  his  return,  he 
was  appointed  to  a  professorship  in  the  Medical  Faculty  of 
the  Institution  in  which  he  had  completed  his  classical 
education.  This  connection  with  his  Alma  Mater  con- 
tinued, without  much  interruption,  until  the  establishment 
of  a  separate  College  of  rhysicians  and  Surgeons,  of  which 
he  subsequently  became  President.  From  the  date  of  his 
accession  to  it,  the  Institute  in  question  began  to  prosper, 
and  continued  to  flourish  until  his  resignation,  when  it 
began  to  decline.  Before,  however,  he  was  called  to  pre- 
side over  it,  he  had  relinquished  bis  practice,  and,  as  his 
father  had  done  before  him,  retired  to  his  family  seat  at 
Hyde  Park,  where  he  erected  a  larger  and  more  modern 
mansion,  and  in  a  finer  situation  than  the  old  family  home- 
stead. In  this  he  resided  until  his  death,  since  which  it 
has  passed  from  the  hands  of  his  family  into  those  of 
strangers  to  his  blood  and  lineage.       '  9 

Peregrine  Mindful. 

llarh'ffidd  street,  June  26,  1847. 


[From  the  American  Mail,  Saturday,  July  10, 1847.] 

NUMBER  SIX. 

At  the  time  referred  to  in  my  former  numbers,  Broad- 
way terminated  at  St.  Paul's  church,  above  which  were 
what  were  called  "  the  Fields,"  which  are  now  in  part  en- 
closed within,  and  with  much  less  propriety  called  "  the 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


39 


.Park."  There  were  then  but  two  brick  houses  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  street  opposite  to  the  church,  both  of 
which  are  still  remaining,  and.  are  now  amon^  the  oldest 
in  the  city,  viz  :  that  occupied  by  the  Chemical  Bank,  and 
the  one  next  to  it.  There  were  but  two  also  above  the 
church ;  one  of  which  was  situated  on  the  opposite  corner 
of  Vesey  street,  and  the  other  adjoining  it  under  the  same 
roof.  They  formed  together  a  uniform  building  of  two 
stories,  and  were  erected  before  the  war  —  the  one  by 
Major  Walter  Rutherford,  the  other  by  Colonel  Axtell, 
both  half  pay  officers  in  the  British  army,  who  married 
and  settled  in  ]Sew  York.  The  former  took  part  in  the 
Revolution  —  and  continued  to  reside  in  his  house  many 
years  after  the  war.  The  conduct  of  the  latter  during  that 
period  was  such  as  to  induce  the  confiscation  of  his  estate, 
upon  which  his  house  became  the  property  of  the  state, 
and  was  the  official  residence  of  Lewis  A.  Scott  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  State,  until  the  seat  of  Government  was  re- 
moved to  Albany.  These  houses  were  afterwards  raised  a 
story  —  and  are  now  absorbed  in  the  Astor  House. 

"When  I  first  remember  them^  there  was  a  board  on 
that  of  Mr.  Rutherford's,  bearing  the  aristocratic  inscrip- 
tion of  "  Great  George  street,"  which  was  succeeded  by 
another  inscribed,  with  more  republican  simplicity,  and 
with  greater  regard  to  appearances,  "  Road  to  Albany ;  " 
while  the  opposite  corner,  the  house  of  old  Andrew  Hopper, 
where  the  American  Museum  now  stands,  bore  a  similar 
direction  for  Chatham  row,  as  the  "  Road  to  Boston." 
Standing  at  this  point  and  extending  the  view  to  the  north 
west,  the  first  object  that  it  met  was  Columbia  College, 
then  without  wings,  and  its  original  material  of  blue  stone, 
not  yet  "  sickled  o'er  with  the  pale  cast,"  of  stucco,  which 
now  embellishes  it,  or  its  gawky  cupola  replaced  by  the 
graceful  dome  which  now  crowns  it.  In  the  distance,  the 
North  river  was  plainly  visible.    Directing  the  eye  due 


4U 


KEMlNiSCEJS'CES  OF 


north  from  the  same  station,  it  lighted  in  its  range  along- 
-Broadway  upon  nothing  more  considerable  than  a  few 
small  "  Mead  houses"  and  "  Tea  gardens,"  until  reaching 
"  Walkers  Fives'  Alley"  near  the  corner  of  Murray  street. 
There,  indeed,  my  school  fellows  and  I  attended  occasion- 
ally as  spectators  merely,  but  contrived  nevertheless  to  take 
some  lessons  in  the  game  when  our  elders  had  withdrawn. 
Some  years  afterwards  the  old  Ball  Alley,  and  the  neigh- 
boring Tea  gardens  were  removed  to  make  way  for  some 
of  the  three  story  brick  houses  that  now  occupy  the  block. 
A  new  Fives-court,  on  a  larger  scale  was  erected  at  Green- 
wich, where  we  engaged  as  actors ;  and  among  us  we  could 
boast  some  good  players,  of  whom  young  Anthony  Lis- 
penard,  and  his  brother-in-law,  as  he  afterwards  became, 
the  late  Alexander  L.  Stewart,  deserve  the  most  honorable 
mention. 

The  row  of  houses  built  upon  the  site  of  Walker's  Alley 
and  the  lots  adjoining,  were  not,  however,  the  first  of  that 
description  erected  in  the  neighborhood.  Before  any  other 
in  the  whole  distance  above  the  corner  ofVesey  street, 
except  the  two  at  that  point  already  mentioned,  a  double 
three  story  house  was  built  by  Abijah  Hammond,  at.  +he 
upper  corner  of  Barclay  street,  which  is  still  standing,  and 
forms  the  sub-stratum  of  the  "  American  Hotel."  Some 
few  years  after  this,  three  others  were  erected,  extending 
from  the  opposite  corner  of  Barclay  towards  the  older 
houses  at  the  corner  of  Vesey  street ;  that  on  the  corner 
was  built  by  Richard  Harrison,  the  next  by  Cornelius 
Roosevelt,  and  the  third  by  Rufus  King,  which  subse- 
quently  became  the  property  and  town  residence  of  John 
Jacob  Astor,  until  with  all  the  others  in  the  block,  it  was 
razed  for  the  purpose  of  rearing  the  Granite  pile,  intended, 
doubtless,  to  commemorate  the  wealth  and  taste  of  the 
proprietor. 

It  was  many  years  before  any  buildings  of  the  same  class 


r 


AN  OLD  YORKER.  41 

made  their  appearance  above  the  old  Bridewell,  or  V  New 
Prison,"  as  it  was  formerly  called,  and  which  stood  as 
most  of  your  readers  may  remember,  near  Broadway,  on 
a  line  with  Murray  street.  In  the  same  range,  across  "  the 
Fields,"  were  the  Alms  House  with  its  garden,  nearly  on 
the  site  of  the  present  City  Hall,  and  heyond  was  the  Jail, 
since  converted  into  a  depository  of  papers  instead  of 
persons,  and  called  the  "Hall  of  Records.'5  Adjoining 
the  Jail,  on  the  side  of  the  Alms  House,  was  the  Gallows; 
not  a  temporary  gibbet  erected  for  an  occasional  execution, 
occurring  "  few  ana1  far  between,"  as  now,  but  a  perma- 
nent fixture  of  imposing  dimensions  and  some  pretension 
to  architectural  beaut}7,  being  shaped  like  a  Chinese  sum- 
mer house,  and  painted  as  gaily  as  any  imitated  from  that 
model  in  the  public  gardens  in  the  neighborhood ;  on  its 
floor  a  platform  with  variously  contrived  machinery  for 
dropping  malefactors  into  eternity,  and  hooks  for  halters 
in  the  ceiling  for  the  accommodation  of  half  a  dozen  at  a 
time. 

Behind  this  row  of  municipal  edifices,  and  near  the 
present  site  of  Chambers  street,  were  "  the  upper  barracks," 
so  called  to  distinguish  them  from  those  at  the  lower 
battery ;  and  beyond,  at  the  north  east  corner  of  Reade 
street,  was  the  "  Negro  burying  ground,"  which  subse- 
quently became  the  subject  of  more  than  one  protracted 
litigation,  growing  out  of  a  claim  set  up  to  it  by  the  sellers, 
one  of  whose  ancestors  had  iu  former  years  possessed  and 
•  cultivated  it  as  a  farm. 

Farther  to  the  north-east,  and  below  the  descent  in  the 
rear  of  the  present  site  of  Manhattan  reservoir,  was  the 
fresh  water  pond  or  "  Kolek,"  rtcu-amjlk-e  "  Collect,"  from 
which  the  city  was  long  supplied  wijtlj  water  —  at  first 
drawn  from  the  old  "  Tea  water  pump  "  in  Chatham  street, 
and  thence  carried  about  town  in  hogsheads  fixed  on  carts 
adapted  to  the  purpose,  and  whence  the  citizens  received 
6* 


42 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


their  daily  supply.  But  as  the  city  increased  in  size,  this 
mode  of  distribution  was  found  inconvenient,  and  the 
Manhattan  Company  was  chartered  for  the  purpose  of 
furnishing  the  city  "  with  pure  and  wholesome  water." 
This  project  was  hatched  in  the  fertile  Drain  of  Aaron 
Burr,  with  whom  the  avowed  object  was  —  as  it  has  since 
been  with  the  company  —  merely  secondary.  His  real  and 
concealed  object  was  a  Bank,  in  which  —  in  general  and 
covert  terms,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  legislature  or  of 
any  individuals  but  Burr  himself  and  those  he  chose  to 
let  into  the  plot  —  the  company  was  authorized  to  employ 
its  surptlus  capital .  However,  the  company  entered  upon 
both  branches  of  its  business — at  first,  perhaps,  equally 
in  earnest  as  to  each.  A  reservoir  was  erected,  pipes  were 
laid  ;  and  thus  it  was  that  Burr,  in  more  senses  than  one, 
was  the  first  to  introduce  the  practice  of  pipe  keying,  which 
has  since  been  so  successfully  followed  by  his  party. 

The  beautiful  sheet  of  water  whence  they  drew  their 
supply,  consisted  of  . two  branches.  The  first  —  which  was 
much  the  smaller  —  commenced  in  the  rear  of  Reade  street, 
and  extended  nearly  to  Magazine  (now  part  of  Pe^rl) 
street  —  where  there  was  a  small  hill,  on  which  was  situate 
"The  Powder  House."  Beyond  that  the  "Kolck"  ex- 
panded m  breadth  from  the  rear  of  Broadway  —  near  the 
present  site  of  Crosby  street,  easterly  to  Orange  street,  and 
extended  northerly  nearly  to  Grand  street, 

Besides  supplying  the  city  with  water,  the  "  Kolck"  was 
in  winter  the  great  resort,  not  only  of  our  youth,  but  of  a- 
large  portion  of  our  men  of  full  size  and  age,  for  enjoying 
the  manly  and  exhilarating  amusement  of  skating  No- 
thing more  animating  and  oven  picturesque  can  be  imagined, 
than  the  scene  it  presented  of  a  fine  frosty  morning,  its 
glassy  surface  sprinkled  over  with  groups  of  skaters  pei'- 
forming  their  evolutions,  now  sweeping  gracefully  in 
alternate  curves,  now  darting  off  in  light  lines  with  the 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


43 


speed  of  an  arrow,  then  turning  at  angles  of  various 
degrees,  and  joining  a  posse  in  pursuit  of  the  ball,  striking 
it  with  a  hurly  far  over  their  heads,  and  sending  them  ofl 
in  pursuit  like  the  first  hurst  of  a  pack  of  hounds.  Others 
collected  in  smaller  circles,  admiring  the  dexterity  of  Jack 
Roosevelt  in  cutting  figures,  a  species  of  arithmetic  that 
poor  Jack  excelled  in  more  than  any  other;  or,  lost  in 
wonder  at  the  number  of  hats  in  a  line  that  Joe  Reade 
could  clear  at  a  leap,  though  on  all  proper  occasions,  the 
gallant  Joe  never  failed  to  touch  Ids  hat.  And  then  the 
brilliant  frame  work,  that  adorned  this  picture  !  formed  as 
it  was  of  rows  and  galaxies  of  mothers,  sisters,  wives,  aye, 
and  of  sweethearts  too,  assembled  on  the  surrounding 
heights  to  witness  the  exciting  sport.  But  neither  were 
the  actors  or  spectators  in  these  games  confined  to  one 
class,  but  all  were  brought  together  as  partakers  of  it  in 
common,  and  thus  they  became  so  well  known  to  each 
other,  as  to  establish  harmony  and  cordiality  of  feeling  and 
intercourse  between  individuals  moving  in  different  spheres; 
acquaintances  which  were  thus  formed  lasted  in  many 
instances  for  the  lives,  and  tended  to  the  mutual  benefit  of 
the  parties.  Fou  my  part,  I  confess  I  look  back  with 
greater  pleasure  to  the  hours  I  spent  on  the  "  Kolck,"  as 
it  was  there  that  I  became  acquainted  with  Jake  Burger, 
Ben  Haight,  Arnold  Fink,  Arcliy  McCullum,  Bill  Coul- 
thard,  Peter  Sharpe,  the  Janeways,  the  Lorillards,  the 
Croliuses,  the  Brookes,  and  many  others,  some  few  of 
whom  survive,  but  the  rest  are  gone,  all  gone !  But  there 
is  not  one  of  them  that  did  not  leave  a  good  name  behind ; 
not  one  with  whom  I  did  not  continue  the  acquaintance 
thus  formed  as  boys,  or  meet  in  after  life  with  mutual 
friendly  greeting. 

The  outlet  of  the  "  Kolck  "  was  a  creek  crossing  Broadway 
under  an  arch,  at  its  present  junction  with  Canal  street, 
nearly  along  the  course  of  which  the  stream  found  its  way 


44 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


through  Lispenard's  meadows  to  the  North  river.  These 
meadows  were  generally  overflowed  before  the  setting  in  of 
winter,  and  were  then  frozen  over,  so  that  I  have  often 
passed  on  skates  from  the  "  Kolck,"  under  the  bridge  at 
Broadway,  and  pursuing  the  outlet  to  the  meadows,  pro- 
ceeded over  them  to  the  north  beyond  Hudson  Square,  and 
to  the  south  so  far  as  Duane  (then  Barley)  street,  in  the 
rear  of  the  Hospital. 

Peregrine  Mindful. 

MarMfldd  street,  July  1st,  1847. 


[From  the  American  Mail,  Saturday,  July  17, 1847.] 

.  NUMBER  SEVEN. 

About  the  year  1790,  a  project  was  entered  into  by  a 
company  of  gentlemen,  which  originated  with  my  father, 
for  purchasing  a  belt  or  strip  of  territory,  across  the  Island 
from  Corlears  Hook  to  Greenwich,  by  anticipating  the 
growth  of  the  city  in  all  directions,  and  availing  themselves 
of  its  advantages  as  a  speculation.  A  plan  of  the  contem- 
plated improvement  was  drawn  by  Major  L 'Enfant,  the 
French  engineer,  including  the  fresh  water  pond,  which,  as 
it  seems  to  my  memory,  might  have  been  taken  as  the  pro- 
totype of  the  Regent's  Park  in  London,  as  spaces  were  laid 
down  in.  it  for  rows  of  dwellings,  on  a  large  scale,  both 
within  and  surrounding  the  enclosure ;  but  its  scenery 
would  have  been  more  varied,  and  its  principal  features 
bolder  than  the  English  one  —  as  it  would  not  only  have 
included  a  more  extensive  sheet  of  water,  but  a  natural 
eminence  of  considerable  height  and  great  beauty  —  the 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


45 


old  "Bunker's  Hill,"  which,  with  the  rest  of  the  adjoining 
grounds,  was  to  he  planted  with  some  of  the  most  beautiful 
trees  of  our  forests. 

This  project  failed  from  the  refusal  of  the  riparian  pro- 
prietors either  to  come  in  as  partners,  or  sell  out  to  the 
company.  They  thought  it  folly  or  madness 'to  suppose 
that  the  city  would  ever  extend  so  far,  or  that  the  land 
hounding  on  the  "  Kolck"  would  ever  become  of  greater 
use  or  value,  than  for  the  Breweries,  Ropewalks,  Tanneries, 
and  Potteries,  to  which  it  was  then  appropriated.  It  was 
then  suggested  to  the  corporation  to  reserve  the  "  Kolck  " 
as  a  dock  or  basin  for  the  sloops  engaged  in  the  river  trade, 
and  the  occasional  use  of  sea  vessels  by  enlarging  the  out- 
let to  the  North  river,  and  opening  the  old  one  to  the  East. 
And  to  this  the  adjacent  owners  would  willingly  haye 
assented,  as  they  saw  the  advantage  of  converting  their 
property  into  lots  for  warehouses,  and  stores  for  dealers  in 
articles  necessary  for  the  shipping.  But  the  fathers  of  the 
city,  in  their  wisdom,  considered  this  plan  to  be  as  visionary, 
as  the  former  one  was  useless.  They  supposed  that  the 
"  New  Albany  Basin,"  then  just  completed,  together  with 
the  old  "  Albany  Pier,"  at  the  foot  of.  Whitehall  street, 
would  be  sufficient*for  the  accommodation  of  the  North 
river  sloops  for  ail  time. to  come,  and  that  larger  vessels 
would  find  room  enough  and  to  spare  oh  the  East  river,  if 
the  wharves  were  extended  to  the  ship  yards  beyond  Cath- 
erine slip  !  It  was  therefore  sagely  determined  to  dig  down 
Bunker's  Hill,  and  the  hills  in  Broadway  (and  there  were 
two  pairs  of  them  between  the  Bridewell  and  Sandy  Hill), 
and  with  the  earth  thus  obtained,  to  fill  up  the  "  Kolck" 
and  convert  it  into  terra  firma  —  available  for  streets  and 
lots.  This  was  done ;  but  at  a  greater  expense  than  the  lots 
were  worth  when  the  improvement  was  completed.  To  esti- 
mate fully  the  advantages  gained  by  it  to  the  city,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  inspect  that  part  of  it  which  extends'  upward 


46 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


from  Reade  to  Grand  street,  between  Crosby  and  Orange 
streets,  and  contrast  it  in  the  mind's  eye  with  the  appear- 
ance it  would  have  presented  had  either  the  ornamental 
plan  of  L'Enfant,  or  the  utilitarian  one  proposed  as  its  sub- 
stitute been  adopted. 

Passing  on  one  occasion  with  a  companion  across  the 
fields  near  the  "  Kolck,"  we  were  startled  by  a  sound, 
which,  for  a  moment,  I  mistook  for  the  blowing  of  a  shoal 
of  porpoises  which  had  found  their  way  from  the  river. 
But  on  proceeding  to  the  bank  overlooking  the  pond  in 
the  rear  of  Broadway,  we  descried  a  boat,  which  I  supposed 
at  first  to  be  on  fire,  but  soon  perceived  that  not  to  be  the 
case,  as  her  movements  were  regular,  and  produced  by 
paddle  wheels  at  her  sides,  which,  in  my  wisdom,  I  sup- 
posed to  be  driven  by  the  smoke  issuing  in  a  thick  volume 
from  her  pipe,  after  the  manner  of  the  Jack  for  roasting, 
in  my  father's  kitchen.  My  more  intelligent  companion, 
who  had  seen  the  boat  before,  informed  me,  however,  that 
it' was  a  "  steam  boat"  and  belonged  to  one  Fitch,  a  Yankee, 
who  had  contrived  that  mode  of  rowing  boats  by  the  steam 
arising  from  a  close  kettle  of  boiling  water,  which  he  had 
on  board,  and  to  which  the  fire  that  caused  the  smoke  was 
applied.  My  wonder  and  curiosity  Weing  thus  excited,  I 
advanced  to  the  point  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  to  which  the 
boat  appeared  to  "be  approaching,  and  reached  the  spot  as 
she  touched  the  shore.  I  there  saw  several  persons  land 
from  her,  among  whom  I  recognized  Chancellor  Livingston, 
Colonel  John  Stevens,  of  Hoboken,  and  a  Mr.  Roosevelt, 
the  uncle  of  my  friend  Jack,  mentioned  in  my  last  as  cut- 
ting such  a  figure  upon  the  ice. 

There  remained  on  board  a  man,  whom  I  understood  to 
be  Mr.  Fitch,  and  a  bo}-,  whom  my  companion  accosted  as 
Jack  Hutchins.  Of  the  former  he  asked  and  obtained  per- 
mission for  us  to  go  on  board  the  boat,  and  were  shown 
her  machinery  by  the  latter.    She  was  a  ship's  long  boat* 


AN"  OLD  YORKER. 


47 


or  common  yawl,  about  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  in  length, 
and  six  in  width.  She  had  cross  seats  as  usual,  between 
which  were  placed  a  large  iron  pot,  with  a  heavy  plank 
cover,  set  upon  a  sort  of  grate  or  furnace,  and  a  scpiare 
vessel  of  copper  was  annexed  to  the  pot.  Forward  of  this 
apparatus,  were  placed,  at  some  distance  from  each  other, 
two  casks,  of  different  sizes,  and  between  them,  at  about 
the  centre  of  the  boat,  an  upright  bar  of  iron,  with  another 
lighter  one  fixed  horizontally  upon  it,  so  as  to  vibrate  like 
a  scale  beam.  At  each  end  of  this  beam  depended  a  per- 
pendicular rod,  which  played  up  and  down  in  the  casks, 
through  orifices  in  their  heads,  and  a  third  rod,  stouter 
than  the  others,  was  attached  at  one  end  to  the  horizontal 
beams,  about  half  way  between  its  centre  and  one  of  its 
extremities.  This  was  fastened,  at  its  other  end,  to  a  crank, 
in  an  iron  shaft  running  across  the  boat,  and  passing  through 
her  sides  so  as  to  form  the  axis  of  her  water  wheels.  There 
was  another  iron  shaft  passed  longitudinally  out  of  the 
boat's  stern,  and  upon  asking  the  use  of  it,  the  boy  told  us 
that  Mr.  Fitch  found  the  wheels  splashed  so  much,  and  the 
paddles  in  rising  held  so  much  water,  that  he  meant  to  use 
the  screw  lying  on  the^shore  in  their  stead,  and  fix  it  under 
water  at  the  stern,  "  so  as  to  scull  her." 

Here,  then,  was  the  original  steamer,  with  not  only  the 
paddle  wheels  at  her  sides,  which  were  many  years  after- 
wards claimed  and  patented  by  Mr.  Fulton  as  his  inven- 
tion, but  the  screw  propeller,  which  has  been  more  recently 
claimed  and  patented  as  original  by  others.  This  could 
not  have  been  later  than  the  year  1796.  If  my  memory 
fails  or  deceives  me  in  any  of  these  particulars,  I  refer,  for 
its  correction,  to  my  old  friend  Anthony  Lamb,  the  late 
Commissary  General  of  the  State,  w^o  was  my  companion 
on  the  occasion  mentioned  —  and  to  John  Ilutchins,  if  he 
is  still  in  the  land  of  the  living. 

In  recalling  these  circumstances  to  mind,  it  is  impossible 


48 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


to  avoid  reflecting  and  dwelling  upon  the  hard  fate  of  John 
Fitch  —  who,  like  all  whose  genius  had  led  them  to  make 
discoveries  in  science  or  the  arts,  derived  no  benefit  him- 
self from  his  invention,  but  merely  opened  the  way  for 
others  to  profit  by  it.  He  announced  the  success  of  his 
first  experiment  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Franklin  as  early  as  the 
12th  of  October,  1785.  In  the  succeeding  year  he  had  a 
boat  on  the  Delaware,  propelled  by  steam,  with  double  sets 
of  perpendicular  paddles  at  the  side.  These  were  moved 
by  means  of  a  crank  and  axles  —  but  finding  this  apparatus 
clumsy  and  liable  to  get  out  of  order  —  he  removed  it  and 
affixed  water  wheels  to  the  same  axles.  This  boat  con- 
tinued to  ply  during  the  summer  of  1786,  between  Phila- 
delphia and  Bordentown,  and  attained  the  speed  of  from 
five  to  seven  miles  an  hour.  I  have  heard  the  late  Governor 
Bloomfield,  of  New  Jersey,  declare  that  he  had  frequently 
been  a  passenger  in  her.  In  another  boat,  Fitch  placed  r. 
single  water  wheel  at  the  stern  —  for  which  he  afterwards 
substituted  a  submerged  screw.  In  all  this,  he  was  "  lite- 
rally before  his  age,"  but  had  he  been  possessed  of  a  suffi- 
cient money  capital  himself —  or  could  he  have  persuaded 
those  who  possessed  it  to  aid  him  in  perfecting  his  inven- 
tion, steam  navigation  would  have  been  in  practical  opera- 
tion among  us  fifteen  or  twenty  years  before  it  was  intro- 
duced by  Fulton  —  who,  in  fact,  owed  more  of  his  success 
than  is  generally  known  to  the  previous  experiments  of 
Fitch.  The  one  was  the  Columbus,  the  other  the  Americus 
Vespucius  of  the  discovery.  The  former  was  a  Connecticut 
farmer's  boy,  who,  like  the  latter,  was  apprenticed  to  a 
watchmaker,  in  which  situation  the  mechanical  genius  of 
both  was  developed.  Fulton,  however,  was  the  more  for- 
tunate—  especially  iyj  not  being  premature  in  his  attempts 
at  steam  navigation  —  to  which,  indeed,  his  attention  was 
directed  by  others,  and  not  adopted  from  the  suggestions 
of  his  own  mind.    The  internal  commerce  of  the  State, 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


49 


and  every  species  of  intercourse  by  means  of  our  large 
rivers,  ha£  so  much  increased  since  the  experiments  of 
Fitch,  that  when  Fulton's  boat  made  her  appearance  on 
our  waters,  the  country  was  fully  ripe  for  the  introduction 
of  that  means  of  transportation.  He  had  not  only  availed 
himself  of  the  experience  of  his  predecessors,  but  he  found 
in  his  association  with  one  of  the  most  wealthy  and  intel- 
ligent of  them,  the  late  Chancellor  Livingston,  the  aid  and 
encouragement  that  Fitch  wanted.  Failing  to  obtain  these 
in  his  own"  country,  the  latter  went  in  search  of  them  to 
Europe.  There,  too,  he  met  with  disappointment,  but  left 
behind  bim  the  materials  which  led  to  the  success  of  Mr.  Ful- 
ton. On  leaving  France,  Fitch  deposited  his  plans,  models, 
drawings,  calculations,  and  memorandums,  with  Mr.  Vail, 
the  counsel  of  the  United  States  at  L'Orient,  by  whom  they- 
were  delivered  to  Mr.  Fulton,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Livingston, 
while  the  latter  was  Minister  to  France.  In  the  meantime, 
Fitch  had  returned  home,  penniless,  having  worked  his 
passage  to  Boston,  before  the  mast.  He  then  went  to  Ken- 
tucky, where  he  found  employment  for  some  yeans  as  a 
surveyor  and  civil  engineer,  and  where,  in  1798,  he  died 
"  unknown,  unhonored  and  unwept." 

Peregrine  Mindful. 

Marketfield  street,  July  10,  1847. 


7 


50 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


[From  the  American  Mail,  Saturday,  July  24, 1847.] 

NUMBER  EIGHT. 

The  earliest  public  spectacle  I  remember  to  have  wit- 
nessed, was  the  grand  procession  to  celebrate  the  adoption 
of  the  Federal  Constitution.  Upon  the  ratification  of  this 
new  form  of  National  Government  by  a  sufficient  number 
of  States  to  render  it  operative,  it  was  determined  by  our 
citizens  to  demonstrate,  in  a  suitable  and  imposing  manner, 
the  satisfaction  and  joy  which  pervaded  all  classes  of  the 
community,  in  consequence  of  that  event. 

A  day  for  the  purpose  having  been  more  than  once  fixed 
upon,  and  postponed,  in  the  hope  that  the  Convention  of 
this  State,  then  in  session  at  Poughkeepsie,  would  accede 
to  the,  union,  the  committee  of  arrangements,  of  whom 
Colonel  Richard  Piatt,  was  Chairman,  found  it  impossible 
any  longer  to  oppose  the  patriotic  ardor  of  their  constitu- 
ents, and  accordingly  appointed  the  23d  day  of  July,  1788, 
for  the  celebration.  The  ratification  of  the  new  Constitu- 
tion by  New  York,  though  considered  eventually  certain, 
was  not,  from  the  opposition  it  encountered  in  the  State 
Convention,  then  thought  to  be  immediate,  and  the  acces- 
sion to  it  by  that  body,  within  three  days  after  this  celebra- 
tion, was  in  a  measure  ascribed  to  the  universal  enthusiasm 
in  its  favor  manifested  on  that  occasion. 

It  was  evident  that  the  People  were  in  favor  of  the  Con- 
stitution. It  might  indeed  have  been  said,  "  We  are  all 
Federalists,"  with  much  greater  truth  than  when  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson made  that  declaration,  coupled,  as  it  was  with  the 
trueism,  "  We  are  all  Republicans."    At  the  time  I  speak 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


01 


of,  there  were  no  exclusive  pretensions  to  the  latter  name, 
but  the  former,  though  neai-ly  as  generally  assumed, 
imported  a  real  distinction. 

However,  under  whatsoever  name  the  Anti-Federalists 
were  afterwards  known  —  they  were  fain  to  unite  in  cele- 
brating the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  with  its  authors 
and  supporters — the  Federalists. 

At  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  day  appointed,  a 
salute  of  thirteen  guns  was  fired  by  the  federal  ship  "  Ham- 
ilton," as  a  signal  for  the  procession  to  move.  This  ship 
was  built  for  the  occasion,  and  presented  by  our  patriotic 
ship  carpenters.  She  was  equipped  as  a  frigate  of  32  guns, 
twenty-seven  feet  keel,  and  ten  beam,  with  everything 
complete  in  proportion,  both  in  hull  and  rigging,  manned 
with  upwards  of  thirty  seamen  and  marines,  with  a  full 
complement  of  oflicers  and  uniforms,  under  the  command 
of  the  veteran  Commodore  James  Nicholson.  After  firing 
the  salute,  she  got  under  way  from  the  "  Fields,"  and  pro- 
ceeded to  her  station  in  the  centre  of  the  procession,  the 
various  bodies  composing  it,  having  been  collected  there 
from  their  different  places  of  rendezvous.  After  forming, 
it  proceeded  clown  Broadway  to  Great  Dock  (now  Pearl) 
street,  thence  through  Hanover  Square,  Queen  (now  also 
Pearl),  Chatham,  Division,  Arundel  (now  Clinton),  and 
Bullock  (now  Broome)  streets,  to  Alderman  Bayard's 
orchard,  between  the  Bowery  and  Broadway,  under  the 
direction  of  Colonel  Piatt,  as  Grand  Marshal,  and  Colonels 
Morgan  Lewis,  Nicholas  Firth,  and  Aquila  Giles,  and 
Majors  James  Fairlie,  William  Popham,  and  Abijah  Ham- 
mond as  Assistants. 

First  came  an  escort,  consisting  of  Captain  Stake's  light 
horse,  preceded  by  trumpeters,  and  Captain  Van  Dyke's 
Artillery,  with  a  field  piece. 

The  remainder  of  the  procession  was  marshaled  in  ten 
Divisions,  each  of  which  was  preceded  by  a  white  flag,  in 


52 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


honor  of  the  ten  States  which  had  acceded  to  the  Consti- 
tution. 

FIRST  DIVISION. 

Foresters  with  axes  j  Columbus,  in  proper  costume,  on 
horseback,  represented  by  Captain  Moore.  Foresters  with 
axes,  &c. 

A  plough  drawn  by  three  yokes  of  oxen,  conducted  by 
Nicholas  Cruger,  in  a  farmer's  dress,  a  flag  with  the  farmers' 
arms  —  a  wheat  sheaf, —  on  the  band  of  which  was  the 
motto,  uO!  Furhnxi/i'Af/ricohv  Ml  and  above  was  a  rising 
star.    Two  men  sowing  grain. 

A  harrow,  drawn  by  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  a  pair  of  horses, 
conducted  by  John  Watts,  dressed  as  a  farmer ;  followed  by 
a  number  of  gentlemen  farmers,  carrying  different  imple- 
ments of  husbandry. 

A  new  invented  threshing  machine,  conducted  by  Baron 
Pollnitz  and  other  gentlemen  farmers,  in  farmers'  dresses, 
grinding  and  threshing  grain. 

Arms  of  the  United  States  in  sculpture,  borne  by  Colonel 
Anthony  Walton  White,  mounted  on  a  fine  grey  charger, 
beautifully  caparisoned,  and  led  by  two  African  mutes,  in 
white  oriental  dresses  and  turbans,  preceding  the  society  of 
the  Cincinnati. 

Gardeners,  in  their  green  aprons,  and  bearing  the  tools  of 
their  trade. 

Tabors;  with  a  band  of  music,  and  a  standard,  represent- 
ing on  its  field,  Adam  and  Eve,  naked,  except  fig  leaves  for 
aprons,  with  various  other  appropriate  devices.  The  flag 
preceded  by  a  company  of  six,  three  and  three,  in  blue  and 
buff  sashes,  and  cockades — and  followed  by  John  Elliot, 
as  President,  between  two  of  the  committee  of  the  trade, 
with  the  rest  of  its  members,  all  in  like  costuifte  —  the  rear 
brought  up  by  John  Banks,  the  Vice  President. 

Measurers  of  Grain,  headed  by  James  Van  Dyke,  with  a 
flag  representing  on  one  side,  the  measures  used  in  their 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


53 


business  —  inscribed  —  "  Equity,"  and  surrounded  with 
tbese  lines : 

"  Federal  measures,  and  measurers  true, 
Shall  measure  out  justice  to  us  and  to  you." 

On  the  other  side,  ships  taking  in  grain,  and  Bo.kers, 
headed  by  John  Quackenbos  and  Frederick  Stymetz. 

They  were  followed  by  ten  apprentices  dressed  in  white, 
with  blue  sashes,  each  carrying  a  large  rose,  decorated  with 
ribbons,  and  ten  journeymen  in  the  like  costume,  carrying 
implements  of  the  craft.  Then  followed  a  square  stage  or 
platform  mounted  on  wheels,  and  drawn  by  two  bay  horses 
decorated  with  ribbons,  on  which  were  four  bakers  with  the 
"  Federal  loaf"  made  of  a  whole  barrel  of  flour,  with  the 
names  at  full  length  of  the  ten  States  that  had  ratified  the 
constitution,  and  the  initials  of  the  other  three. 

The  flag  represented  the  declension  of  trade  under  the 
old  confederation,  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other,  its  flou- 
rishing state  under  the  new  constitution. 

Breicers. —  The  standard  ornamented  with  the  Brewers 
arms.  Motto  :  "  Home  brewed :  "  followed  by  Messrs. 
Lispenard,  Appleby  and  Matlack,  with  each  a  gilt  mashing 
oar  in  hand,  and  barley  heads  in  their  hats,  followed  by  two 
horses  and  drays  with  casks  ornamented  with  hop  vines 
and'  barley.  On  the  first  dray  was  a  boy  representing 
Bacchus  in  appropriate  costume,  and  mounted  on  a  ton  of 
Ale ;  below  him  sat  Silenus,  astride  of  a  Porter  Hogshead. 

SECOND  DIVISION. 

Coopers. —  Headed  by  Peter  Stoutenbergh,  carrying  a 
small  flag  with  the  Coopers'  arms.  Motto :  "  Love  as 
Brethren"  —  followed  by  thirteen  apprentices  in  white 
shirts  and  trowsers,  with  a  keg  under  their  left  arms. 
These  were  followed  by  forty-two  more  in  white  leathern 
aprons,  with  green  oak  branches  in  their  hats,  and  carrying 


54 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


a  branch  of  oak  in  their  right  hands.  Then  came  the  stage 
drawn  by  four  bay  horses,  decorated  with  green  ribbons 
and  oak  branches.  On  the  stage  were  several  Coopers  at 
work  under  John  Post  as  boss.  A  cask  representing  the 
new  Constitution  was  put  up  and  finished  during  the 
procession.  Following  the  stage  were  one  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  masters  and  journeymen  Coopers,  their  hats 
decorated  with  green  oak  branches,  with  boughs  of  the 
same  in  their  hands.  The  rear  brought  up  by  Daniel  Duns- 
comb,  carrying  a  small  flag  like  that  in  front, 

Butelwrs. —  Headed  by  Jotham  Post,  Alexander  Fink, 
John  Lovell,  and  Jacob  J.  Arden  —  Standard  displaying 
Butchers'  arms.    Motto : 

"  Skin  me  well,  dress  tne  neat 
And  send  me  aboard  the  federal  fleet." 

A  stage  drawn  by  four  bright  bays,  each  ridden  by  a  boy 
dressed  in  white.  On  the  stage  was  a  stall  neatly  fur- 
nished, with  two  butchers  and  two  boys  at  work  —  followed 
by  one  hundred  of  the  trade  with  clean  white  aprons  and  their 
steels  on.  A  band  of  music  preceded  and  followed  by  two 
standards,  each  inscribed,  "  Federal  Butchers,"  that  in 
front  borne  by  William  Wright,  that  in  the  rear  by  John 
Perrin.  A  capital  bullock  of  a  thousand  weight  was  pre- 
sented by  the  Butchers,  and  roasted  whole  on  the  ground 
in  honor  of  the  day. 

Tanners  and  Curriers. —  Arms  on  a  flag;  Motto:  "By 
union  we  rise  to  splendor.".  Behind  all  an  oak  tree. 

/Skinners,  'Lcnlltcr-l>ret'<-ln  s  makers  CU(jM  tilorcrs. —  Headed  by 
Alsop  Hunt,  Benjamin  Gatfield,  James  Mathers,  Leonard 
Rogers,  and  James  Hays.  Standard  borne  by  J ames  Mott, 
and  John  Peals,  supported  by  Henry  Frederick  and  Jacob 
Grindlemeyer ;  motto:  "Americans,  encourage  your  own 
manufactures,"  followed  by  thirty-one  of  the  trade,  in  buck 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


55 


skin  waistcoats,  breeches,  gloves  and  garters  —  it) ith  buck's 
tails  in  their  hats.  To  these  William  C.  Thompson  the 
parchment  manufacturer  attached  himself  with  a  standard 
of  parchment  inscribed,  "  American  Manufactured." 

THIRD  DIVISION. 

Cordwaincrs. —  Headed  by  James  McCready,  bearing  a 
flag  with  the  arcns  of  the  craft  inscribed,  "  Federal  Cord- 
wainers,"  and  followed  by  twelve  masters.  Next  came  a 
stage  drawn  by  four  greys,  with  two  postillions  in  livery ; 
a  shop  on  the  stage  with  ten  men  at  work.  Then  followed 
the  main  body  of  three  hundred  and  forty  men,  the  rear 
brought  up  by  Anthony  Bolton,  bearing  a  flag  like  the  one 
in  front. 

FOURTH  DIVISION. 

Carpenters. —  Four  master  Carpenters,  with  each  a  rule 
in  his  hand,  and  a  scale  and"  dividers  suspended  from  his 
neck  by  a  blue  ribbon.  The  standard  borne  by  eight  joui'- 
neymen.  Two  corintbian  columns  supporting  a  half 
finished  pediment.  Motto  on  the  frieze,  "  The  Love  of 
our  country  prevails."  Then  followed  the  journeymen  and 
masters  in  sections  upwards  of  two  hundred  rank  and  file. 

Furriers. —  Headed  by  Lot  Merkel  and  John  Siemon, 
bearing  a  white  bear  skin,  followed  by  an  Indian  in  his 
proper  costume,  loaded  with  furs.  Then  followed  a  horse 
led  by  an  Indian,  and  mounted  by  two  bears  'sitting  on 
packs  of  furs,  followed  by  the  journeymen  of  the  trade  in 
their  working  dresses  trimmed  with  fur.  The  rear  brought 
up  by  Lyon  Jonas  in  a  scarlet  blanket  and  cap  ornamented 
with  feathers,  smoking  the  calumet. 

Matters,  led  by  "Walter  Bicker,  preceded  by  ten  journey- 
men in  their  working  dresses,  with  blue  sashes,  carrying 
bows  ornamented  with  blue  ribbons,  followed  by  sixty  mas- 
ters, journeymen  and  apprentices. 

Peruke-makers,  and  Mair-dressers  —  in  number  forty-five  — 


56 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


standard  containing  the  arms  of  the  trade,  a  wig  —  in  quar- 
ters—  with  three  razors  for  a  crest.  Motto:  "May  we 
succeed  in  our  trade,  and  the  Union  protect  us." 

Artificial  Florists  brought  up  the  rear  of  this  division, 
carrying  a  white  flag  ornamented  with  artificial  flowers, 
supported  by  two  boys  in  white,  with  blue  sashes  and 
feathers  in  their  caps.    Motto  :  "  Floreat  America." 

FIFTH  DIVISION. 

Whitesmiths,  carrying  a  pedestal  of  open  scroll  work 
supporting  the  arms  of  the  trade :  Vulcan's  arm  and  hand 
with  hammer.  Motto :  "  By  hammer  and  hand,  all  arts 
do  stand."  On  the  front  of  the  rjedestal  a  highly  finished 
lock  and  key ;  upon  the  top  a  smoke  jack  kept  in  motion 
by  the  wind,  and  over  it  a  bell  kept  ringing  during  the 
procession,  followed  by  the  masters,  journeymen,  and 
apprentices  of  the  trade,  all  with  blue  cockades. 

Cutlers,  Two  master  cutlers  wearing  steel  breast  plates, 
with  drill  bows  in  their  hands,  and  green  silk  aprons, 
embellished  by  the  arms  of  the  trade,  followed  by  four 
journeymen  and  four  apprentices  in  green  baize  aprons. 

Confectioners,  bearing  a  cup  made  of  sugar,  four  feet  and 
a  half  in  circumference,  and  highly  ornamented,  and  a 
large  "  Federal  Cake,"  ornamented  with  preserved  fruit, 
made  and  carried  by  Adam  Prior,  the  fashionable  confec- 
tioner of  the  day. 

Stone  31asons,  headed  by  George  Linsey  and  "William 
McEanney.  Standard  displaying  the  Temple  of  Fame, 
supported  by  thirteen  pillars,  ten  finished,  and  three 
unfinished.  Inscription 

"  The  foundation  is  firm,  the  materials  are  good, 
Each  pillar's  cemented  with  patriots'  blood." 

Bricklayers,  one  hundred  and  twenty  in  number,  pre- 
ceded by  John  McComb  bearing  a  standard  containing  the 
arms  of  the  trade.    "  Motto  :  "  In  God  is  our  trust." 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


57 


Painters  and  Glaziers,  with  flags  containing  the  arms  of 
the  trade,  and  various  specimens  of  ornamental  house 
painting.  Over  the  banner  containing  the  arms  a  scroll 
inscribed  :  "  May  trade  flourish  and  industry  he  rewarded." 

Gibinet-makers,  headed  hy  Messrs.  Carmer,  Ricker  and 
Anderson.  Robert  Carter,  bearing  the  arms  of  the  trade, 
followed  by  thirty  apprentices  and  twenty  journeymen. 
"Then  came  a  stage  drawn  by  four  horses,  on  which,  during 
the  march,  a  table  and  cradle  were  completed ;  the  rear 
brought  up  by  sixteen  master  workmen. 

Chair-makers,  headed  by  Thomas  and  "William  Ashe  of 
the  "Windsor,  and  Jacob  Smith  and  Mr.  Dowe  of  the  Rush 
bottom  manufactory,  followed  by  sixty  workmen.  The 
standard  borne  by  Francis  Dillon.    Motto : 

"  The  Federal  States  in  union  bound 
O'er  all  the  world  our  chairs  are  found." 

Ivory  Turners  and  Musical  Instrument-makers,  headed  by 
Ahasuerus  Turk  and  other  masters  of  the  trade  —  standard 
representing  Apollo  playing  on  a  lyre,  with  a  border  of 
musical  instruments,  ifstooned  in  the  manner  of  trophies. 

Upholsterers. —  On  a  stage  drawn  by  six  horses,  contain- 
ing the  Chair  of  State,  prepared  by  William  Mooney, 
afterwards  Grand  Sachem  of  the*  Tammany  Society.  On 
its  right  stood  John  De  Grushe,  a  comely  lad,  representing 
the  Goddess  of  Liberty,  with  a  scroll,  inscribed  "  Federal 
Constitution,  1788."  On  the  left  another  youth  in  the 
character  of  Justice,  blindfolded  and  bearing  the  sword 
and  balance. 

Lace  and  Fringe  Wearers,  bearing  orange  colors. elevated 
on  a  gilt  standard,  ornamented  by  their  own  manufactures. 
The  device,  an  angel  bearing  a  scroll  inscribed  "  Federal 
Constitution,"  and  underneath,  "  0  never  let  it  perish  in 
your  hands,  but  piously  transmit  it  to  your  children." 

Paper  Siainers. —  Standard  borne  by  John  Colles,  attended 
8 


r>8 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


by  an  apprentice  in  a  coat  and  cap  of  paper,  laced  with 
bordering,  and  others  carrying  decorated  tools,  &c. 

Civil  Engineers,  carrying  a  design  for  a  dock  for  building 
and  repairing  men  of  war,  and  other  large  vessels. 

But  lest  my  description  should  exceed  in  length  the  pro- 
cession itself,  we  will  halt  for  the  present,  for  refreshment, 
and  resume  our  march  at  a  future  day. 

Peregrine  Mindful. 

Marketfield  street,  July  20,  1847. 


[From  the  American  Mail,  Saturday,  July  31, 1847.] 

NUMBER  NINE. 

"We  now  take  up  the  line  of  march  with  the 
sixth  Divisra^. 

Shipwrights,  with  a  flag  representing,  in  front  of  a  live 
oak  tree,  a  ship  in  frame,  with  pieces  of  timber  lying  about. 
On  the  reverse,  Noah's  -A^rk,  with  the  motto :  "  The  bulwark 
of  a  nation." 

Blacksmiths  and  Nailors,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty,  headed  by  John  McBane.  Standard  repre- 
senting two  smiths'  shops;  in  one,  men  forging  an  anchor ; 
in  the  other,  men  shoeing  horses  and  making  nails. 
Between  the  two  shops,  a  large  anchor.    Motto  : 

"  Forge  me  strong,  finish  me  neat, 
I  soon  shall  moor  a  Federal  fleet." 

During  the  march  the  blacksmiths  begun  and  almost 
completed  an  anchor  upon  their  stage,  besides  making  a 
number  of  other  articles. 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


59 


Ship-joiners,  flag  with  their  arms,  crested  with  a  ship  — 
motto : 

"  Our  merchants  may  venture  to  ship  without  fear, 
For  pilots  of  skill  shall  the  Hamilton  steer." 

Boat-builders,  headed  by  two  masters,  followed  by  a  Barge 
rowed  by  thirteen  men,  in  proper  dresses.  Flag  —  a  boat 
building,  with  axe  and  adze  crossed. 

Block  and  Pump-makers,  with  a  stage,  on  which  they  • 
finished  a  pump,  turned  three  dozen  sheaves  and  pins,  and 
made  thirteen  blocks  —  sheaved  and  pinned  complete  — 
during  the  procession. 

Sail-makers,  headed  by  George  Warner,  with  thirty-seven 
men  and  boys  of  the  trade,  in  canvass  vests  and  trowsers, 
blue  sashes,  and  pine  branches  in  their  hats,  followed  by  a 
stage  drawn  by  four  horses,  on  which  were  master  work- 
men cutting  out  sails,  and  journeymen  at  work  upon  them. 
During  the  procession  a  ship's  foretopsail  was  finished,  and 
a  steering  sail  cut  out  and  completed. 

Riggers,  to  the  number  of  forty-one,  headed  by  Richard 
Clark ;  bearing  a  standard  representing  a  ship  being 
rigged.    Motto : 

"  Fit  me  well,  and  rig  me  neat, 
And  join  me  to  the  Federal  fleet." 

SEVENTH  DIVISION. 

The  Federal  Ship  Hamilton,  under  way,  with  her  top  sails 
a  trip  and  courses  in  the  brails.  When  abreast  of  Beaver 
street,  she  made  the  proper  signal  for  a  pilot.  The  pilot 
boat  "made  sail  from  her  harbor,  in  Beaver  street,  and 
appeared  on  the  ship's  weather  quarter,  when  the  latter 
threw  her  main-topsail  to  the  mast,  and  received  a  pilot  on 
board.  She  then  filled  away  and  made  sail  to  the  fort, 
opposite  Bowling  Green,  where  she  discovered  the  Presi- 
dent, and  members  of  Congress,  and  immediately  brought 
to,  and  fired  a  salute  of  thirteen  guns,  followed  by  three 


00 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


cheers,  which  were  returned  by  the  members  of  Congress. 
The  procession  then  moved  on,  and  when  the  ship  came 
opposite  to  "William  Constable's,  in  Dock  (now  Pearl)  street, 
she  was  presented  by  Mrs.  Logan  with  a  suit  of  colors  — 
after  securing  which,  the  crew  gave  three  cheers.  When 
she  arrived  abreast  of  Old  Slip,  she  was  saluted  by  thirteen 
guns  from  his  Catholic  Majesty's  packet,  which  was  duly 
returned.  She  then  made  sail  again,  through  Queen  (now 
Pearl)  street  to  her  station,  opposite  the  dining  tents  on 
Bayard's  farm,  near  the  present  corner  of  Broome  and  Mott 
streets.  She  clued  up  her  topsails  and  came  to  anchor  in 
close  order,  with  the  rest  of  the  procession,  and  the  Com- 
modore and  his  officers  went  on  shore  to  dine.  At  four, 
p.  M.,  she  gave  the  signal  for  marching,  by  the  discharge  of 
thirteen  guns,  and  the  procession  moved  by  the  lower  road 
(now  Broadway).  At  half  past  five,  p.  M.,the  ship  arrived 
at  her  moorings,  abreast  of  the  Bowling  Green,  amidst  the 
acclamations  of  thousands;  and  the  different  branches  of 
the  procession,  as  soon  as  they  were  dismissed,  greeted  her 
with  three  cheers. 

Pilot  Boat. —  Eighteen  feet  in  length,  and  four  feet  in 
width,  commanded  by  Edward  Wilkie,  a  branch-pitot, 
with  four  lads.  She  was  drawn  on  a  wagon  by  a  pair  of 
horses,  and  followed  by  the  pilots,  two  and  two. 

Marine  Society. —  President  with  a  gold  anchor  at  his  left 
breast,  suspended  by  a  blue  riband ;  two  Vice  Presidents, 
Treasurer  and  Secretary,  and  Attorney.  Standard  bearer 
with  white  silk  flag,  adorned  with  suitable  devices ;  motto : 
"  To  Charity  add  Knowledge,"  folloAved  by  former  officers, 
members  of  the  Society,  and  masters  of  vessels. 

Printers,  Book  binders  and  Stationers,  preceded  by  Hugh 
Gaine  and  Samuel  Loudon,  on  horseback.  The  standard, 
supported  by  Messrs.  Carroll  and  Bryce,  followed  by  a  stage 
drawn  by  four  horses,  upon  which  was  a  printing  press, 
with  compositors  and  pressmen  at  work.    During  the  pro- 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


01 


cession,  many  hundred  copies  of  a  song  written  by  Colonel 
Duer,  and  an  ode  written  by  Royal  Flint,  adapted  to  the 
occasion,  were  struck  Off,  and  distributed  among  the  crowd, 
by  Archibald  McLean  and  J.  Russell.  The  master  printers, 
booksellers,  and  book  binders,  with  their  journeymen  and 
apprentices,  followed  the  stage. 

EIGHTH  DIVISION. 

Cartmen. —  A  cart  painted  red,  with  the*  words  "  Federal 
Cart,"  in  white  letters,  ornamented  with  green  boughs,  and 
drawn  by  an  elegant  bay  horse,  neatly  caparisoned,  driven 
by  Edward  Fowler,  in  a  white  frock  and  trowsers,  and  blue 
sash,  followed  by  three  hundred  cartmen,  conducted  by 
Thomas  Ammerman,  A.  Matting,  J.  Demeroy,  and  Walter 
Furman. 

Horse  Doctor. —  Walter  Gibbons,  horse  doctor,  bearing  a 
standard  with  suitable  devices,  inscribed  "  Federal  Horse 
Doctor." 

Mathematical  Instrument  Makers,  headed  by  Thomas  Biggs, 
bearing  a  standard  encircled  with  ten  stars,  and  exhibiting 
a  Hadley's  quadrant  telescope,  compass,  and  hour  glass, 
&c.    Motto  :  "  Trade  and  Navigation." 

Carvers  and  Engravers,  united,  led  by  Richard  Davis  and 
Peter  R.  Maverick;  the  banner  borne  by  R.  B.  Davis. 

'Coach  and  Harness  Makers. —  Preceded  by  a  stage  drawn 
by  ten  black  horses,  workmen  at  work  in  the  stage  in  the 
different  branches  of  the  trades.  Standard  with  suitable 
devices.    Motto  :  "  The  Federal  Star  shall  guide  our  car." 

Copper  Smiths,  headed  by  Asher  Myers  and  Charles 
White.  A  standard,  emblematical  of  the  trade.  Motto  : 
"  May  the  labor  of  the  industrious  be  crowned  with  success." 

Tin-plate  Workers,  headed  by  Messrs.  Kempton,  Harden- 
brook  and  Dash,  followed  by  their  journeymen  and  appren- 
tices with  white  cockades.  Standard,  exhibiting  "  The 
Federal  Tin  Warehouse,"  raised  on  ten  pillars.    Motto  : 


G2 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


"  When  three  more  pillars  rise 
Our  Union  will  the  world  surprise." 

Peivtcrers. —  Bearing  an  orange  colored  silk  flag,  with  the 
arms  of  the  United  States  on  one  side,  and  the  Pewterer's 
arms  on  the  other.    Motto  :  "  Solid  and  Pure." 

Gold  and  Silver  Smiths. —  Standard  surmounted  by  a  gold 
eagle,  bearing  arms  of  the  trade,  representing  Justice  with 
her  balance.    Motto :  • 
"  Justice  is  the  Queen  of  Virtues." 

Potters. —  A  stage  drawn  by  two  horses  —  potters  at  work 
turning  a  number  of  vessels  in  different  forms.  Flag  with 
the  arms  of  the  trade.    Motto  i 

"  The  Potter  hath  power  over  the  clay." 

Chocolate  Makers. —  Banner  exhibiting  the  old  Confede- 
ration as  a  naked  man  with  thirteen  heads  looking  different 
ways.    Motto : 

"  When  each  head  thus  directing 
The  body  naught  pursues ; 
But  when  in  one  united 
Then  energy  ensues."  , 

On  the  reverse  ten  men  supporting  one  head ;  on  one  side 
the  sun  rising  —  on  the  other  an  angel  pointing  to  the 
rising  sun,  and  bearing  a  sash  with  these  lines : 

"  Behold  how  beams  yon  bright  and  rising  sun, 
Oh !  happy  era !  tyranny  is  fled ; 
Since  Federal  Government  is  now  begun, 
United  in  one  presidential  head." 

Tobacconists,  headed  by  Dennis  McReady,  displaying  a 
white  silk  flag,  with  their  arms  encompassed  by  thirteen 
tobacco  plants  —  motto:  "Let  brotherly  love  continue," 
preceded  by  thirteen  boys  in  white,  with  blue  ribbons,  each 
carrying  a  hand  of  tobacco  with  ten  leaves  bound  closely 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


03 


together,  and  followed  by  masters  and  journeymen,  to  the 
number  of  forty-five. 

Dyers,  headed  by  John  Morrison  and  Robert  Dodds,  fol- 
lowed by  journeymen  and  apprentices,  dressed  in  various 
colors  —  one  bearing  a  flag  with  the  arms  of  the  trade. 
Motto : 

.  "  Give  Glory  to  God." 

Brush  Makers,  headed  by  Messrs.  Cooper  and  Watson,  • 
bearing  a  flag  displaying  the  arms  of  the  trade.    Motto  : 

"  May  love  and  unity  support  our  trade, 
And  keep  out  those  who  would  our  rights  invade." 

followed  by  ten  journeymen  and  three  apprentices,  each 
carrying  a  large  brush  called  a  Turk's  head  upon  staves 
twelve  feet  long. , 

Tallow  Chandlers. —  A  flag  with  thirteen  stripes,  beneath 
which  on  one  side  a  portrait  of  General  Washington,  with 
the  inscription  "  The  illustrious  Washington :  may  he  be 
the  first  President  of  the  United  States ;  "  on  the  other 
side  a  portrait  of  Colonel  Hamilton  ;  between  the  two,  the 
arms  of  the  trade,  over  which  were  represented  thirteen 
candles,  ten  burning  and  three  not  lighted. 

Saddlers,  Harness,  and  Whip  Makers,  headed  by  John 
Young,  Henry  Broadwell  and  James  Amory,  followed 
by  a  horse  richly  caparisoned  and  led  by  a  groom,  with  an 
elegant  whip  in  his  hand,  and  followed  by  two  stable  boys, 
dressed  in  character.  The  other  masters  and  journeymen 
bringing  up  the  rear. 

NINTH  DIVISION. 

The  Gentlemen  of  the  Bar  in  their  robes,  preceded  by  the 
Sheriff  and  Coroner.  In  the  centre  of  their  body,  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  elegantly  engrossed  on  vel- 
lum, was*  borne  by  John  Lawrence,  supported  by  John 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


Cozine  and  Robert  Troup.  Ten  students  at  law  followed, 
bearing  in  order  tbe  ratifications  of  the  Constitution  by  the 
several  States. 

The  Philological  Society,  headed  by  Josiah  Ogden  Hoff- 
man, President  of  the  Society  —  the  standard  with  its  arms 
borne  by  "William  Dunlap.    Motto  : 

"  Concedat'  Laurea  Lingua."  •  * 

Columbia  College. —  Banner  emblematical  of  science  — 
motto :  "  Science  and  Liberty  mutually  support  and  adorn 
each  other,"  preceded  by  two  large  globes  mounted  on 
staves,  and  borne  by  graduates.  Then  came  the  President 
and  Professors,  followed  by  the  Students  —  all  in  their 
academic  dresses. 

Merchants  and  Traders,  headed  by  John  Broome,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  "William  Maxwell, 
Vice  President  of  the  Bank  of  ISTew  York ;  in  a  chariot, 
followed  "William  Laight,  Secretary  to  the  Chamber,  on 
horseback,  bearing  a  standard  representing  in  an  oval  field 
surrounded  by  thirteen  stars,  Mercmy  supporting  the  arms 
of  the  city,  surrounded  by  emblems  of  Commerce.  Motto  : 

"  Non  nobis  nati  solum." 
TENTH  DIVISION. 

Clergymen,  Physicians,  Citizens  and  Strangers,  preceded  by 
a  blue  flag,  containing  the  arms  of  the  United  States. 
Motto  :  "  United  we  stand,  divided  we  fall." 

The  rear  of  the  procession  was  brought  up  by  a  detach- 
ment of  artillery  with  a  field  piece.  The  line  extended 
upwards  of  a  mile  and  a  half,  and  contained  more  than 
five  thousand  people.  The  doors  and  windows  of  the 
houses  before  which  it  passed  were  thronged,  especially  by 
the  fair,  whose  smiles  and  animated  gestures  contributed 
to  complete  the  general  joy.    As  this  interesting  exhibition 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


65 


moved  along,  an  unexpected  silence  reigned  throughout 
the  city,  which  gave  a  solemnity  to  the  ceremony  suitable 
to  its  importance.  Xo  noise  was  heard  hut  the  rumbling 
of  the  carriage  wheels,  and  the  necessary  salutes  and 
signals.  The  whole  body  having  arrived  at  Bayard's  farm, 
was  wheeled  into  line  and  reviewed  by  the  marshal  and 
his  assistants,  after  which  the  insignia  of  the  procession 
heing  left  upon  the  ground,  the  bodies  composing  it  were 
conducted  to  their  respective  dining  tables,  where  they 
were  honored  by  the  company  of  Congress,  the  foreign 
ministers,  and  other  strangers  of  distinction. 

The  two  principal  sides  of  the  building  provided  for  their 
entertainment,  consisted  of  three  large  pavilions,  connected 
by  a  colonnade  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  front,  and 
forming  two  sides  of  an  obtuse  angle ;  the  centre  pavilion 
rising  above  the  others,  and  terminating  in  a  dome,  sur- 
mounted by  a  figure  of  fame,  with  her  trumpet  proclaim- 
ing a  new  era.  The  extremities  of  the  angle  were  joined 
by  a  table,  forming  the  segment  of  a  circle,  from  which 
ten  more  colonnades  extended,  each  four  hundred  and  forty 
feet  in  length,  as  the  raMx  of  a  semi-circle,  the  common 
centre  of  which  was  the.  centre  of  the  principal  pavilion, 
where  sat  Nathaniel  Gorham,  of  Massachusetts,  the  Presi- 
dent of  Congress.  At  the  extremity  of  each  colonnade  was 
a  pavilion  nearly  similar  to  those  already  mentioned,  each 
terminating  in  a  pediment  crowned  with  an  escutcheon, 
inscribed  with  the  name  of  one  of  the  States  which  ratified 
the  Constitution. 

The  taste  and  genius  of  Major  L'Enfant,  so  often  dis- 
played on  other  public  occasions,  and  to  whom  the  city 
was  indebted  in  the  present  instance  —  seemed  to  have 
derived  additional  brilliancy  from  the  dignity  of  the  subject 
on  which  they  were  then  exercised.  The  dinner  closed 
with  thirteen  appropriate  toasts,  after  each  of  which,  a 
salute  of  ten  guns  was  fired.    The  repast  ended,  the  pro- 


66 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


cession  returned  in  the  former  order  to  the  place  where  it 
had  set  out,  and  was  dismissed  by  half  past  five,  p.  m. 

The  transactions  of  the  day  presented  many  circum- 
stances upon  which  the  reflections  of  the  patriot,  the  phi- 
losopher, and  the  statesman,  might  dwell  with  satisfaction 
and  pleasure.  A  pageant,  magnificent  in  its  simplicity  — 
exhibited,  not  to  gratify  the  pride  or  ambition  of  an  indi- 
vidual, but  to  manifest  the  attachment  of  a  whole  people  to 
a  government  formed  by  themselves  to  secure  and  per- 
petuate their  civil  and  religious  liberties ;  the  mutual  con- 
fidence of  the  various  classes;  the  glorious  hope;  the 
emulous  and  patriotic  zeal;  the  unsullied «harmony  of  the 
day ;  and  the  uninstructed  ingenuity  of  our  mechanics, 
unfolding  itself  in  the  invention  of  their  emblems ;  were 
all  calculated  to  call  forth  admiration.  But  what  most 
excited  the  surprise  of  persons  unacquainted  with  the 
character  of  our  people,  was  to  see  the  numberless  crowds 
of  spectators  in  view  of  a  tempting  collation,  not  only 
adhering  to  every  rule  of,  decorum,  unaided  by  a  single 
bayonet,  but,  though  under  the  influence  of  public  passions 
verging  upon  enthusiasm,  peaceably  retiring  at  an  early 
hour,  without  a  single  instance  of  disorder,  or  even  rude- 
ness. 

The  memory  of  a  day  which  reflects  so  much  honor  upon 
the  mild  genius  of  our  government,  and  the  character  of 
the  then  inhabitants  of  this  city,  should  be  preserved  as  a 
tribute  to  the  one,  and  an  example  to  the  successors  of  the 
others.  Instead  of  the  trophies  of  war  and  captives  in 
chains,  which  graced  the  triumphs  of  antiquity,  we  here 
behold  the  plough,  the  ship,  and  all  the  implements  of  the 
useful  arts.  The  wreath  of  martial  glory  was  exchanged 
for  the  garland  of  peace ;  and  instead  of  the  painful 
sensations  which  in  a  humane  and  liberal  mind  would  be 
excited  by  the  triumphal  entry  of  a  conquei'or  reeking 
with  the  blood  of  thousands  of  his  fellow  men,  the  heart 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


67 


of  every  veteran  anticipated  with  rapture  the  return  of 
concord  among  the  States,  of  public  and  private  justice,  of 
individual  happiness  and  national  glory,  as  the  attendants 
of  a  wise,  free,  and  efficient  government. 


[From  the  American  Mail,  Saturday,  August  7, 1847.] 

NUMBER  TEN. 

In  the  Spring  of  1789,  I  witnessed  the  arrival  of  General 
Washington  in  this  city,  and  his  inauguration  as  the  first 
President  of  the  United  States.  Tie  crossed  from  Elizabeth- 
town  point  in  the  "President's  Barge" — the  largest  row 
boat  I  ever  saw,  which  had  been  built  for  the  occasion. 
Commodore  Nicholson  acted  as  coxswain,  and  the  oars 
were  manned  by  twenty-four  branch  pilots.  The  progress 
of  the  President  elect  had  been  a  continual  triumph  from 
the  moment  of  his  leaving  Mount  Vernon,  until  his  arrival 
at  New  York,  and  the  reception  he  met  with  on  landing 
corresponded  with  the  enthusiastic  welcome  with  which  he 
had  been  cheered  at  every  step  as  he  advanced.  The  pub- 
lic functionaries  of  the  old  Confederation,  had  proceeded  1 
to  Elizabethtown  in  the  barge  to  accompany  him  to  the 
city ;  and  those  of  the  State  and  of  the  City  with  the  uni- 
formed companies  of  militia,  the  Cincinnati,  and  other 
public  societies,  waited  to  receive  him  at  the  wharf,  whence 
he  was  escorted  to  the  residence  of  Governor  Clinton  in 
Queen  street,  the  house  subsequently  occupied  as  an  auction 
store  by  Anthony  L.  Bleecker  and  sons.  In  the  evening 
the  President  repaired  privately  to  the  house  prepared  for 
him,  which  belonged  to  the  estate  of  Walter  Franklin,  a 
respectable  merchant  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  one  of 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


whose  daughters  was  afterwards  married  to  DeWitt  Clinton. 
This  house  is  still  standing,  tliongh  much  altered  in  appear- 
anee,  at  the  head  of  Cherry  street,  hut  at  that  time  there 
were  several  buildings  between  it  and  Pearl  street,  which 
have  since  been  removed.  It  had  been  occupied  for  several 
years  by  successive  Presidents  of  Congress,  and  had  been 
recently  fitted  up  and  newly  furnished  for  the  reception  of 
the  illustrious  patriot,  who  had  been  unanimously  elected  as 
the  head  of  the  new  federal  government.  Here  his  family 
had  already  arrived  ;  and  Mrs.  Washington  found  waiting 
to  receive  her  the  wives  and  daughters  of  many  of  her  hus- 
band's former  companions  in  arms,  who  had  been  known 
to  her  during  the  Revolution  ;  among  them  were  the  widow 
and  daughters  of  Lord  Stirling,  the  wives  of  General  Mal- 
eom  and  Colonel  Hamilton,  the  latter  of  whom  is  (for  she 
is  yet  living),  a  daughter  of  General  Schuyler. 

The  next  morning,  a  procession  was  formed  at  an  early 
hour,  consisting,  besides  the  different  bodies  which  formed 
the  escort  of  the  day  before,  of  the  ministers  and  other 
representatives  from  foreign  courts,  and  the  Judiciary  of 
the  States  in  their  carriages.  After  assembling  in  front  of 
the  President's  house,  it  pi'oceeded  through  Queen  (now 
Pearl)  and  Wall  streets  to  the  "Federal  Hall,"  at  the  head 
of  Broad  street,  upon  the  upper  portico  of  which  the  oath 
*  of  office  was  administered  to  the  President  elect,  in  the 
presence  of  both  houses  of  Congress,  by  Robert  R.  Liv- 
ingston, Chancellor  of  the  State.  The  words  of  the  oath 
were  audibly,  distinctly  repeated  by  Washington  after  the 
Chancellor,  in  a  solemn  and  impressive  manner,  and  after 
he  had  reverently  kissed  the  book,  the  Chancellor  advanced 
to  the  balcony  of  the  portico  —  and  in  a  loud  voice  pro- 
claimed to  the  assembled  multitude  "  Long  live  George 
Washington  —  President  of  the  United  States."  Till  then 
a  silence  had  been  preserved  by  this  immense  assemblage 
in  unison  with  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion ;  but  now  there 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


burst  forth,  as  if  from  one  voice,  such  thundering  peals,  as 
seemed  to  shake  the  foundations  of  the  city ;  and  long  and 
loud  were  they  repeated,,  as  if  their  echoes  never  were  to 
cease.  The  effect,  it  may  well  he  imagined,  was  sublime, 
when  it  is  recollected  that  the  neighboring  streets  presented' 
to  the  view  dense  crowds  of  people,  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach.  It  was  some  hours  after  the  ceremony  before  the 
crowd  dispersed.  Many  remained  to  catch  a  view  of  the 
President  as  he  returned  to  his  carriage  after  delivering  his 
first  speech  to  Congress,  and  the  few  who  succeeded, 
appeared  to  be  wedged  in  so  as  to  prevent  their  retiring 
for  some  time  afterwards,  and  were  only  enabled  at  last  to 
effect  their  retreat  by  the  departure  of  those  in  the  rear,  who, 
when  they  saw  the  President's  carriage  drive  oft',  sought  to 
way-lay  it,  or  to  reach  his  house  first,  and  thus  secure  a 
sight  of  him.  Of  all  these  circumstances,  and  especially 
of  the  inauguration,  I  was  an  eye-witness  from  an  upper 
window  of  a  house  which  commanded  a  view  of  the  inte- 
rior of  the  portico,  and  which  stood  on  the  present  site  of 
the  Mechanics  Bank,  and  they  were  so  indelibly  impressed 
upon  my  memory,  that  young  as  I  was  then,  and  old  as  I 
am  now,  they  appear  before  me  as  distinctly  as  the  events 
of  yesterday. 

As  I  went  to  school  in  the  neighborhood,  it  was  not  long 
before  I  found  my  way  into  the  gallery  of  the  House  of 
Representatives.  The  Senate  was  inaccessible,  as  it  sat  at 
first  with  closed  doors,  even  in  its  legislative  capacity. 
Often  have  I  lost  my  dinner,  and  sometimes  involuntarily 
played  truant  by  remaining  between  schools  to  hear  the 
debates.  I  have  a  perfect  recollection  of  the  appearance 
and  voice  of  Frederick  Augustus  Muhlenbergh,  the  first 
Speaker  of  the  House,  with  his  powdered  head,  brown  coat 
and  brass  buttons.  His  voice  and  manner,  indeed  were 
well  enough,  but  yet  it  seems  to  me,  who  have  since  seen 
a  Trumbull,  a  Sedgwick,  a  Dayton  and  a  Clay  in  the  chair, 


70  REMINISCENCES  OF 

that  he  wanted  hoth  ease  and  dignity.  His  costume  cer- 
tainly would  hear  no  comparison  with  the  full  suit  of  hlack 
worn  hy  most  of  his  successors.  - 

Among  those  who  were  in  the  hahit  of  addressing  this 
"Mr.  Speaker,"  there  were  many  whom  I  knew  from 
having  seen  them  frequently  at  my  father's  house,  and  it 
was  not  long  hefore  I  became  acquainted  with  all  the 
memhers  who  were  accustomed  to  take  part  in  the  debates : 
in  this  I  was  assisted  by  the  calls  of  the'  yeas  and  nays, 
although  that  proceeding  was  not  then  so  usual  as  it  has 
since  become. 

Mr.  Ames  and  Mr.  Madison  were  the  great  leaders  of 
the  opposite  parties ;  and  they  were  not  less  opposed  to 
each  other  in  their  respective  styles  of  oratory,  than  in 
their  politics.  Both  indeed  were  eloquent,  able  and  im- 
pressive—  but  it  was  in  different  ways;  and  if  the  one 
excelled  the  other  in  force  and  clearness,  it  was,  probably, 
because  he  maintained  the  better  side  of  the  question. 
Ames  possessed  more  imagination  ;  Madison  more  astute- 
ness. The  one  was  by  nature  a  poet,  the  other  a  logician. 
The  reasoning  of  Ames  was  synthetical  and  established 
general  principles ;  that  of  Madison  analytical,  and  dwelt 
upon  details.  The  eloquence  of  the  one  flowed  like  the 
current  of  a  river  — 

" Though  deep,  yet  elear,  though  gentle,  yet  not  dull; 
Strong,  -without  rage ;  without  o'erflowing,  full; — " 

that  of  Madison,  in  its  depth  and  smoothness,  resembled 
the  ocean  in  repose.  The  former  dealt  with  questions  of 
general  policy,  of  constitutional  and  international  jurispru- 
dence ;  the  latter  with  domestic  concerns,  financial  and 
political  economy.  As  to  some  principles  they  seemed  to 
agree  —  for  the  one  was,  the  other  had  been  —  a  Federalist. 
The  chief  points  in  discussion  between  them  regarded  the 
assumption  of  the  State  debts  incurred  during  the  war  of 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


71 


the  Revolution,  and  the  settlement  of  the  revenue  system 
of  the  Union;  and  on  these  subjects  Mr.  Ames  found  an 
able  auxiliary,  and  Mr.  Madison  a  formidable  antagonist, 
in  William  Smith,  of  South  Carolina  —  one  of  the  best 
debaters,  and  most  accomplished  gentlemen  that  ever 
appeared  in  Congress,  from  that  State ;  famous,  as  it  has" 
ever  been,  for  men  of  parliamentary  talent  and  social 
accomplishments. 

The  leading  .representatives  from  our  own  State  were 
Egbert  Benson  and  John  Lawrence,  the  one  a  Dutchman, 
the  other  an  Englishman ,  both  Federalists.  The  former  had 
been  Attoi-ney  General  of  the  State,  and  the  other  conti- 
nental Judge  Advocate  in  the  Revolution.  Both  after- 
wards became  judges,  the  one  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
State,  the  other  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States. 
They  both  appeared  to  advantage  on  the  floor  of  the  house. 
Mr.  Benson  was  a  pleasant  speaker,  Mr.  Lawrence  a  sensi- 
ble one,  and  the  personal  accpiirements  of  each,  added 
weight  to  his  arguments.  The  Anti-federalists  from  tbis 
State  were  of  the  rank  and  file  of  their  party.  Indeed, 
with  the  exception  of  Governor  Clinton,  Chancellor  Liv- 
ingston, Col.  Burr,  and  Melancthon  Smith,  the  two  former 
of  whom,  by  their  offices,  and  the  two  latter  by  their 
politics,  were  excluded  from  Congress,  there  was  not  a  man 
among  them  fit  for  a  leader.  The  delegates  from  this  State 
in  the  House  nevertheless,  comprised  a  majority  of  Anti- 
federalists,  and  the  predominance  obtained  by  that  party  in 
the  State  Legislature  enabled  them  to  elect  Burr  as  a  Sena- 
tor in  the  next  Congress,  as  the  successor  of  Schuyler. 
The  Federalists,  however,  continued  to  be  represented  in 
the  Senate  by  Rufus  King. 

Besides  the  representatives  from  other  States  already 
mentioned,  there  were  some  of  whom  I  retain  a  more 
lively  recollection,  from  some  personal  characteristic,  or 
peculiarity  of  manner.    The  most  conspicuous  among  these 


RE MINISOENCES  OF 


were  Elbridge  Gerry  and  George  Thatcher  of  Massachu- 
setts; Roger  Sherman,  of  Connecticut,  and  Dr.  Hugh 
"Williamson,  of  North  Carolina. 

The  first  two  were  the  antipodes  of  each  other  in  cha- 
racter as  well  as  in  politics.  Gerry  was  grave,  garrulous, 
crotchety,  and  nervous.  Thatcher  was  eccentric,  witty, 
downright  and  sarcastic;  and  seemed  to  take  pleasure  in 
worrying  his  more  sensitive  colleague.  Although  a  decided 
Anti-federalist,  Mr.  Gerry  was  anxious  4o  preserve  the 
esteem  of  the  Federal  leaders,  with  whom  he  had  acted  in 
the  Revolution,  and  whose  friendship  he  valued.  He^there- 
fore  claimed  to  be  neutral  and  impartial  between  the  two 
parties;  and  for  tins  he  was.  denounced  by  Thatcher  as  a 
teHiism  $ScW;  and  the  obstinacy  for  which  Mr.  Gerry  was 
remarkable  gave  great  point  to  the  sarcasm.  The  full 
length  portrait  of  Roger  Sherman,  in  Trumbull's  picture 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  represents  him  to  the 
life.  No  one  ever  saw  it  without  acknowledging  its  resem- 
blance to  the  original,  if  they  had  ever  seen  him,  or  if  they 
had  not,  without  being  struck  by  its  personification  of  the 
class  to  which  he  belonged,  and  the  puritan  stock  from 
which  he  was  descended.  No  one  ever  heard  him  without 
recognizing  the  sound  sense  and  integrity,  as  well  as  the 
precise  and  formal  manner,  and  peculiar  tones,  by  which 
the  best  of  that  race  were  distinguished.  In  spite  of  his 
gaunt  and  ungainly  figure,  his  awkward  gestures  and  nasal 
drone,  he  never  rose  to  speak  without  receiving  that  best 
of  all  marks  of  approbation  —  silent  attention.    For  he 

"  Never  spoke  till  he  had  something  to  say, 
And  always  left  off  when  he'd  done." 

Roger  Sherman  was  a  wise  man,  Dr.  Williamson  was  a 
learned  one  :  the  one  was  generally  a  mechanic,  and  suh- 
sequently  a  self-made  statesman,  the  other  was  a  physician, 
and  a  philosophical  one,  but  he  wanted  what  the  schools 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


71 


could  not  bestow  upon  him  any  more  than  they  could  con- 
vert him  into  a  statesman  —  common  sense. 

The  most  exciting  debate  I  ever  heard  in  the  house  was 
on  the  question  of  removing  the  seat  of  the  Federal 
Government  from  New  York.  It  arose  from  the  necessity 
imposed  on  Congress  by  the  Constitution  of  making  pro- 
vision for  the'  establishment  of  the  seat  of  the  Federal 
Government  in  some  district  not  exceeding  ten  miles 
square  which  should  be  ceded  for  the  purpose  by  one  or 
more  of  the  States.  Various  places  had  been  proposed  in 
Congress,  and  various  ofi'ers  made  by  several  States  of 
cessions  of  the  requisite  territory.  The  city  of  New  York 
seemed  to  be  preferred  by  the  majority.  The  members 
from  tbe  East  and  from  the  South  were  united  in  its  favor. 
The  former  preferred  as  being  nearer  to  their  homes  than 
Philadelphia  or  any  place  south  of  that  city ;  and  the  latter 
as  being  more  accessible  to  them  by  sea.  The  circum- 
stance, moreover,  of  its  having  been  of  late  years  the  most 
frequent  seat  of  the  old  Congress,  operated  both  as  a 
recommendation  and  an  expression  in  its  favor.  But 
neither  the  State  nor  the  city  authorities  were  willing  to 
cede  the  territory  and  the  jurisdiction  of  the  ten  miles 
square  which  should  include  it.  It  was  proposed  by  a  mem- 
ber from  Connecticut  to  select  the  village  of  Kingston  or 
•  Esopus,  in  the  county  of  Ulster,  as  the  centre  of  the  square 

of  ten  miles,  and  the  chief  argument  adduced  in  its  favor, 
was  its  situation  as  affording  a  plain  of  that  extent  admi- 
rably adapted  for  the  site  of  a  large  city,  and  being  above 
the  Highlands —  secure  from  the  attack  of  an  enemy.  But 
the  latter  argument  was  met  by  the  fact  of  its  being  sacked 
and  burnt  by  the  British  in  the  war  of  Independence, 
whence  it  was  inferred  that  it  would  be  liable  to  tbe  same 
■  fate  again,  unless  New  York  could  be  defended  from  an 
enemy.  If,  however,  the  State  was  unwilling  to  cede  that 
city,  and  would  cede  the  requisite  territory  in  King's 
10 


71 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


County,  including  Brooklyn,  that  situation  should  be  pre- 
ferred to  any  other;  and  it  probably  would  have  been 
adopted,  though  never  formally  proposed,  had  it  not  been 
from  the  circumstances  I  am  about  to  mention.  Before 
adverting  to  them,  however,  I  cannot  but  express  my  regret 
that  this  last  suggestion  had  not  been  adopted.  New  York, 
though  not  the  geographical,  was  speedily  becoming  the 
commercial  and  financial  centre  of  the  Union,  and  there- 
fore, the  proper  site  for  the  Federal  Metropolis.;  and  Brook- 
lyn, from  its  situation,  partakes  of  all  the  advantages  of 
the  port  and  harbor,  which  are  in  fact  common  to  them 
both,  while  the  latter  was  not  subject  to  the  same  objections 
which  forbade  the  cession  of  the  former  by  the  State. 
And  where  could  a  situation  be  found  for  the  Capitol  and 
other  public  buildings,  comparable  to  the  heights  of 
Brooklyn  ?  But  it  was  again  objected,  that  lying  as  Brooklyn 
.  does  on  the  seaward  side  of  the  East  liiver,  it  was  more 
exposed  to  a  hostile  invader  than  New  York  itself.  It  was 
replied,  however,  that  the  harbor  was  fully  as  capable  of 
defence  as  any  on  the*  coast ;  that  it  could  be  effectually 
protected  from  a  naval  force,  and  had  not  more  to  appre- 
hend from  an  invading  army  than  Philadelphia  or  Alexan- 
dria, or  Georgetown — the  several  places  that  had  been 
named  for  the  seat  of  Government.  The  assertion  in 
regard  to  Philadelphia  had  already  been  verified  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution,  and  its  correctness  with  respect  to 
the  two  latter  was  subsequently  proved  during  the  last  war 
with  Great  Britain. 

Nothing  but  the  influence  of  Washington  could  have 
prevailed  in  effecting  the  compromise  by  which  a  site  on 
the  banks  of  the  Potomac  was  eventually  selected.  With 
regard  to  any  other  man,  it  might  have  been  supposed  that 
his  predilection  arose  from  private  interest,  as  it  might  well 
be  supposed  that  such  a  selection  would  enhance  the  value 
of  his  property  at  Mount  Vernon ;  but  perhaps  no  stronger 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


75 


proof  can  be  adduced  of  the  perfect  and  universal  confi- 
dence in  his  integrity  than  that  amid  all  the  excitement 
attending  the  agitation  and  settlement  of  this  vexed  ques- 
tion, no  other  motive  was  imputed  to  the  Father  of  his 
Country,  than  those  which  he  avowed.  He  deemed  it 
essential  to  the  harmony,  if  not  the  preservation  of  the 
Union,  that  the  seat  of  the  Federal  Government  should  be 
equally  accessible  from  the  North  and  South,  and  as  nearly 
as  possible,  midway  between  them ;  and  he  considered  the 
point  in  question  as  affording  the  best  means  of  connecting, 
through  the  channels  of  the  Potomac  and  the  Ohio,  the 
vast  territories  beyond  the  Alleghany,  with  the  Atlantic 
States,  and  binding  them  together.  The  first  of  these 
objects  has  so  far  been  realized,  and  we  may  hope  will 
hereafter  be  fully  accomplished.  The  second  has  been 
superceded  permanently,  perhaps,  by  the  enterprise  of  this 
State,  in  opening  the  communication  between  our  great 
inland  seas  and  the  ocean,  as  first  suggested  by  General 
Schuyler  and  his  associates  in  the  Western  and  Northern 
Inland  Navigation  Companies,  incorporated  by  our  State 
Legislature  in  1792;  but,  at  the  time  in  question,  the  com- 
munication by  a  canal,  uniting  the  waters  of  the  Chesa- 
peake with  those  of  the  Ohio  was  thought  more  eligible  as 
well  as  more  practicable. 

As  to  the  seat  of  Government,  there  was  at  first  a  diffi- 
culty arising  from  a  competition  between  Alexandria  and 
Georgetown,  which  was  settled  by  a  compromise  subordi- 
nate to  that  I  have  already  alluded  to,  by  which  an  inter- 
mediate point  at  the  junction  of  the  eastern  branch  of  the 
Potomac  with  its  main  channel  was  finally  adopted.  The 
grand  compromise  was  effected  in  Congress,  and  consisted 
in  an  agreement  that  the  seat  of  Government  should  be 
established  for  ten  years  at  Philadelphia,  and  then  be  per- 
manently fixed  upon  the  banks  of  the  Potomac.  This  was 
brought  about  by  the  energy  and  perseverance  of  Robert 


76 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


Morris,  the  great  financier  of  the  Revolution,  then  a  Sena- 
tor from  Pennsylvania.  He  calculated,  no  douht,  that  if 
he  could  get  Congress  settled  for  that  period  at  Philadel- 
phia, they  would  never  remove  from  it,  and  he  urged  as  a 
plausible  reason  for  consenting  to  this  arrangement,  that  it 
would  require  at  least  ten  years  to  erect  the  public  build- 
ings, and  otherwise  prepare  the  "  Federal  city "  for  the 
reception  of  the  Government.  Still,  however,  the  majority 
of  the  members  of  Congress  from  the  States  south  of  Vir- 
ginia, remained  as  well  as  the  whole  eastern  phalanx, 
unmoved.  But  an  opportunity  occurred  to  Mr.  Morris  for 
exercising  his  financial  tact  and  talents,  and  he  prevailed. 
With  tibia  question  was  pending,  at  the  same  time,  that  in 
regard  to  the  assumption  of  the  State  debts,  by  the  Federal 
Government.  This  last  had  been  recommended  by  Ham- 
ilton as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  It  was  one  which  the 
executive  Governments,  and  not  only  many  of  its  friends 
in  Congress  who  were  anxious  for  removing  to  Philadelphia, 
or  the  Potomac,  but  many  that  were  opposed  to  removing 
from  New  York  had  very  much  at  heart.  This  the  great 
master  of  finance  was  well  apprised  of,  and  being  himself 
equally  desirous  that  both  these  measures  should  prevail,  he 
soon  succeeded  in  producing  conviction  in  the  proper  quar- 
ters, that  the  one  depended  upon  the  other,  and  thus  he 
affected  the  adoption  of  both.  The  struggle,  however,  was  a 
violent  one,  but  not  of  long  continuance.  The  gratification 
of  General  Washington  by  establishing  the  permanent  seat 
of  Government  on  the  Potomac  was  a  compensation  to  some 
of  our  citizens  for  its  removal  from  New  York,  while  the 
increased  value  and  security  given  to  the  State  debts  by 
their  assumption  by  Congress,  was  an  ample  compensation 
to  many  others;  and  the  excitement  occasioned  by  the  dis- 
appointment of  the  rest  vented  itself  principally  in  a  cari- 
cature in  which  Mr.  Morris  was  represented  on  the  road  to 
Philadelphia  with  the  Federal  Hall  on  his  shoulders,  the 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


77 


members  of  Congress  looking  out  of  the  windows,  en- 
couraging or  abusing  him,  according  to  their  sentiments 
and  characters,  with  a  striking  likeness  of  Satan  in  the  dis- 
tance and  a  label  issuing  from  his  mouth  with  the  facetious 
inscription  of  "  This  way  Bobby." 


[From  the  American  Mail,  Saturday,  August  14,  1847.] 

NUMBER  ELEVEN. 

I  shall  not,  I  trust,  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  contempt  if  I 
say  that  the  transition  seems  natural  from  the  scenes  enacted 
on  the  floor  of  Congress,  to  those  exhibited  on  the  dra- 
matic stage ;  nor  shall  I  be  suspected,  I  hope,  of  intending 
personal  disrespect  to  our  Senators  and  Representatives 
individually,  by  bringing  them  into  juxtaposition  with  the 
players.  Perhaps  as  Congress  is  not  in  session,  I  may  even 
venture  with  impunity  so  far  as  to  observe  that  I  have 
known  many  actors  by  profession  to  perform  their  parts 
much  better  than  some  of  our  Legislators,  and  some  man- 
agers of  a  theatrical  company  govern  with  more  wisdom 
and  discretion,  than  many  leaders  of  political  parties,  and 
rulers  of  States.  I  doubt  indeed  whether  the  advantage 
is  not  generally  on  the  side  of  the  players,  as  they  never 
pretend  that  their  assumed  characters  are  real,  whereas 
politicians  and  statesmen  of  the  most  arbitrary  principles 
and  conduct,  are  apt  to  be  loudest  in  their  professions  of 
democracy  and  attachment  to  the  people. 

Without  further  prologue,  therefore,  I  will  run  the  risk 
of  raising  the  curtain  of  the  theatre  established  in  this  city, 
by  "  The  Old  American  Company."  This  celebrated  corps 
of  performers  made  their  first  appearance  in  this  country 


78 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


in  the  year  1750,  under  the  management  of  Lewis  Hallam, 
father  of  the  Lewis  Hallam  who  succeeded  him,  and  who 
must  be  remembered  as  long  at  its  head,  by  all  my  con- 
temporaries. After  performing  for  some  years  in  Virginia 
and  Maryland,  the  company  arrived  in  New  York,  and 
performed  in  a  building  erected  for  the  purpose,  in  Nassau 
street,  upon  the  ground  afterwards  consecrated  by  the 
erection  on  it,  of  the  Middle  Dutch  Church,  and  again  dese- 
crated by  the  conversion  of  that  edifice  into  a  Post  Office. 
Here  the  first  dramatic  exhibition  in  this  city  took  place, 
on  the  17th  of  September,  1753,  -consisting  of  Steele's 
comedy  of  The  Conscious  Lovers,  and  the  Ballad  farce  of 
Damon  and  Phillida.  In  the  former  piece  the  part  of  Daniel 
was  sustained  by  "  Master  L.  Hallam,"  the  son  of  the 
manager,  and  the  veteran  of  my  play  going  days. 

During  the  absence  of  the  company  on  a  tour  in  the 
"West  Indies,  the  elder  Hallam  died,  and  his  widow  married 
one  Douglass  a  prominent  member  of  the  corps,  who  there- 
upon succeeded  to  the  Thespian  throne.  It  was  while  the 
company  were  playing  in  the  Islands,  that  the  theatre  in 
Nassau  street  was  taken  down,  and  before  their  return, 
Douglass  had  procured  a  new  one  to  be  ereoted  on  Cruger's 
Wharf,  between  Old  and  Coffee  House  Slips,  where  business 
of  a  very  different  kind  is  now  transacted,  and  upon  a  much 
more  extensive  scale,  though  not  always  with  equal  success. 
Before  1761,  the  scene  had  probably  shifted  from  the  mimic 
to  the  real  business,  for  by  that  time  this  theatre  had  dis- 
appeared, and  a  new  one  had  arisen  in  Beekman  street,  a 
little  way  below  its  junction  with  Nassau  street.  It  appears 
however,  that  opposition  w#s  made  by  the  fathers  of  our 
city  to  the  performance  of  the  company ;  and  permission 
could  only  be  obtained  for  them  from  the  Governor,  to 
perforin  twice  a  week  for  two  months.  Their  tickets  were 
advertised  to  be  sold  by  Hugh  Gaine  at  the  Bible  and 
Crown. 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


70 


The  company  closed  their  performances  in  Beekman 
street  with  a  representation  for  the  benefit  of  the  Charity 
School  of  Trinity  Church !  and  it  was  announced  in  the 
"  Mercury,"  a  weekly  Gazette  published  by  the  orthodox 
and  loyal  proprietor  of  the  Bible  and  Crown,  that  "  a 
handsome  sum  was  raised,  and  delivered  by  Mr.  Douglass 
to  the  Church  Wardens."  This  largesse  from  the  poor 
players  to  the  now  wealthy  corporation,  was  the  reverse  of 
the  medieval  practice,  when  minstrels  received  their  guer- 
dons from  Lords  spiritual  as  well  as  temporal ;  and  the  least 
compensation  which  the  present  "Wardens  and  Vestry  Men 
could  now  make  for  it,  would  be  to  release  the  ground 
rents  upon  all  their  lots  upon  which  theatres  have  since  been 
erected.  One  advantage,  however,  the  players  seemed  to 
have  derived  from  their  generosity,  as  the  city  authorities 
were  conciliated,  and  we  hear  of  no  further  opposition  at 
that  time  to  their  performance. 

During  the  "  troubles  "  consequent  upon  the  stamp  act, 
the  theatre  in  Beekman  street  was  destroyed  by  the 
"Liberty  Boys,"  who  probably  took  it  for  granted  that  the 
players  were  rank  tories  inasmuch  as  they  called  themselves 
"  His  Majesty's  servants."  It  was  not  until  these  disturb- 
ances had  subsided  that  another  theatre  was  built.  This 
was  situated  on  the  north  side  of  John  street,  about  half 
way  between  Broadway  and  jSIassau  street.  It  stood  about 
sixty  feet  from  the  street,  and  a  covered  way  led  from  the 
pavement  to  the  doors.  It  had  two  rows  of  boxes  with  a 
pit  and  gallery,  which  were  sufficient  to  accommodate  both 
the  frequenters  and  the  occasional  visitors  of  the  theatre 
for  many  years.  It  was  opened  on  the  7th  of  December, 
1767,  with  Farquhar's  livelybut  licentious  comedy  of 
The  Beaux's  Stratagem,  and  Garrick's  farce  of  Lethe.  On 
this  occasion  Mr.  John  Henry,  who  afterwards  joined  With 
the  younger  Hallam  in  the  management  of  the  theatre, 
made  his  first  appearance  in  America,  in  the  character  of 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


Ainiwell.  Henry  was  an  Irishman  by  birth,  and  probably 
well  born,  as  be  was  well  educated,  and  bad  borne  a  com- 
mission in  the  British  Army.  He  had  made  his  debut  on 
the  stage  in  London,  under  the  patronage  of  his  country- 
man, the  elder  Sheridan ;  but  his  success  was  not  sufficient 
to  procure  him  an  engagement.  He  could  not,  therefore, 
have  appeared  in  an  Irish  character,  in  which,  in  my 
opinion,  he  has  never  been  excelled,  taking  the  whole  range 
from  Major  0* Flaherty  to  Murtoch  Delany,  and  I  have  seen 
in  them  Johnstone  on  the  London  boards,  and  Power  on  our 
own.  Besides  this,  Mr.  Henry  excelled  in  the  heroes  of 
genteel  comedy,  and  the  second  parts  of  tragedy.  He  was, 
indeed,  in  every  sense  the  gentleman  of  the  company, 
except  the  walking  gentleman  ;  for,  poor  fellow,  he  was  an 
early  martyr  to  the  gout,  and  was  obliged  to  set  up  a  car- 
riage ;  but  the  feelings  of  a  gentleman  prompted  him  to 
apologize  for  what  might  seem  presumption  in  a  player, 
and  he  had  emblazoned  on  its  panels  by  way  of  arms,  a 
pair  of  crutches  crossed,  with  the  motto  fi<  This,  or  those." 
I  remember  the  little  vehicle  well.  It  was  a  small  brown 
chariot,  drawn  by  one  horse,  and  might  have  served  as  the 
prototype  of  that  introduced  afterwards  in  London,  by  the 
late  Lord  Chancellor  of  England,  and  called  after  him  a 
Brougham. 

Hallam,  the  senior  partner,  possessed  great  versatility  of 
talent,  or  rather,  the  talents  he  did  possess  were  made  to 
serve  in  a  variety  of  parts,  which  may  have  been  in  some 
measure  owing  to  his  office  of  jnanager.  He  was,  never- 
theless, an  actor  of  undoubted  merit,  and  from  the  profes- 
sion being  hereditary  in  his  family,  he  was  a  perfect  master 
of  the  business  of  the  stage,  an  excellent  judge  of  the 
merit  of  other  performers,  and  of  the  pieces  suited  to  the 
public  taste.  He  was  the  hero,  both  of  high  tragedy  and 
low  comedy*  and  equally  good  in  Macbeth  and  Mango.  In 
the  latter  he  was  particularly  happy,  owing  to  his  long  resi- 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


81 


deuce  in  the  West  Indies;  but  the  mischief  of  it  was  that 
his  success  in  this  part  iufected  all  his  other  performances, 
and  his  negro  dialect  manifested  itself  in  every  character 
he  undertook,  to  such  a  degree  as  to  provoke  the  application 
to  him  by  way  of  criticism,  the  words  of  his  own  song  of 
u  Mango  here  I  Mango  dere!  Mango  eberywhere  !  " 

The  next  performer  in  point  of  merit  was  Wignell,  the 
cousin  of  Hallam,  and  well  known  afterwards  as  the  mana- 
ger of  the  new  theatre  in  Philadelphia.  He  was  superior  in 
low  comedy  to  his  relation,  besides  being  a  good  comic 
singer,  but  he  did  not  escape  Hallam's  besetting  sin,  and 
that  of  most  other  actors,  of  carrying  his  favorite  part  into 
all  of  his  performances.  Wignell  excelled  in  Darby,  and 
Darby  appeared  on  all  occasions  instead  of  "VVignell. 

Wignell  did  not  perform  in  ]NTew  York  until  after  the 
Revolution,  and  although  he  came  out  to  this  country  at  an 
early  period  of  the  war,  but  immediately  proceeded  to  the 
West  Indies,  in  consequence  of  the  resolution  passed  by 
the  Continental  Congress,  recommending  the  governments 
and  people  of  the  several  States  to  discountenance  every 
species  of  extravagance  and  dissipation,  specifying  amongst 
others,  "  exhibitions  of  shows,  plays',  and  other  expensive 
diversions  and  entertainments."  He  returned  to  New 
York  with  the  company  from  Philadelphia,  where,  upon 
their  arrival  from  the  "West  Indies,  they  had  met  with  so 
cold  a  reception  as  to  induce  the  managers  to  proceed 
immediately  to  New  York,  where  the  theatre  was  first 
opened,  under  the  management  of  Hallam  and  Henry,  on 
the  21st  of  November,  1785.  Besides  the  persons  already 
mentioned,  the  company  at  that  time  consisted  of  Messrs. 
Harper,  Morris,  Biddle,  Wools,  Lake  and  Durang; 
Mesdames  Morris  and  Harper,  Misses  Tuke  and  Durang, 
and  occasionally  Miss  Stcirer,  soon  afterwards  married  to 
Henry.  Hallam,  Henry,  Wignell,  Morris  and  Wools,  were 
sharers  or  proprietors,  the  remainder  were  salaried.  Hal- 
11 


82 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


lam  made  his  first  appearance  this  season  as  Hamlet,  a 
character  Avhich  he  had  seen  performed  by  Garrick ;  but 
had  not  adopted  his  manner  of  representing  it,  being 
influenced,  if  not  by  the  criticism  of  Partridge  in  Tom 
Jones,  by  the  opinion  of  Quin,  to  whose  school  Hallam 
belonged.  On  this  occasion  the  managers  showed  their 
good  sense,  by  restoring  the  scene  of  the  grave  differs, 
which  had  been  omitted  by  Garrick ;  whose  example  in 
this  respect  had  been  followed  by  the  old  provincial  mana- 
gers. Those  of  the  Old  American  Company  deserve  credit 
for  having  restored  it,  before  those  of  the  London  theatres, 
where  it  was  first  revived  by  John  Kemble,  and,  as  if  in 
compliment  to  his  good  taste,  his  full  length  portrait,  in 
that  character,  by  Lawrence,  represents  him  moralizing 
on  the  skull  of  Yorick. 

There  was  another  departure  from  the  ordinary  mode  of 
representation,  evincing  an  equally  correct  judgment,  of 
which  the  praise  is  due  to  Henry,  who  performed  the  Ghost, 
and  which  I  have  never  known  to  have  been  imitated. 
Upon  his  reappearance  in  the  closet  scene,  instead  of  being 
clad,  as  on  the  platform  before  the  castle,  "  in  complete 
steel,"  he  appeared 'in  his  royal  robes,  taking  the  idea 
probably  from  the  exclamation  of  Hamlet : 

"  My  father,  in  his  habit  as  he  lived  !  " 

Harper,  the  next  on  the  list,  was  a  very  useful  performer. 
He  was  the  walking  gentleman,  and  was  moreover  a  singer. 
He,  however,  appeared  in  every  variety  of  parts,  from  Charles 
Xi/i'hicr  to  F<tht<ijj\  in  which  last  he  was  at  that  time  unri- 
valled on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  was  approved  of  by 
those  who  had  seen  Quin  and  Henderson  in  the  character. 
When  the  Doctor's  mob  broke  out,  poor  Harper  had 
advertised  Henry  IV.  for  his  benefit,  but  was  obliged  to 
postpone  it  from  night  to  night,  in  consequence  of  the  riots. 
He  came  to  my  father  who,  as  an  old  army  acquaintance 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


83 


of  Henry's,  was  a  patron  of  the  theatre,  and  asked  him 
what  he  should  do  in  the  emergency.  "  The  best  thing 
you  could  do,  Mr.  Harper,"  was  the  answer,  "  would  be  to 
persuade  the  mob  to  attend  your  benefit." 

Morris  appears  to  have  joined  the  company  as  early  as 
1761,  and  I  remember  him  as  a  member  of  it  from  1787  to 
the  end  of  the  century.  He  was  a' low  comedian,  and 
played  the  old  men  of  camedy  and  farce.  To  me  he 
always  appeared  the  same,  and  his  shuffling  gait  and  whist- 
ling treble  seemed  as  natural  when  I  first  saw  him,  as  when 
they  had  been  forced  upon  him  by  time. 

Wools  was  the  singer,  and  continued  to  figure  as 
such  long  after  his  voice  had  been  destroyed  by  the  im- 
moderate use  of  snuff.  He  had  some  merit  too  as  an 
actor,  particularly  in  the  old  men,  in  opera ;  and  I  re- 
member that  his  Don  Diq/o,  in  the  Padlock,  was  much 
applauded.  Messrs.  Biddle,  Lake,  and  Durang  were 
mere  cyphers,  although  the  latter  occasionally  cut  a  figure 
as  a  dancer,  and  was  for  a  lon^  time  the  Harlequin  of  the 
company. 

Mrs.  Morris,  the  tragedy  cpieen  and  a  fine  lady  of  the 
corps,  was  a  tall  and  elegant  woman,  and  acted  with  great 
spirit.  Mrs.  Harper  was  a  woman  of  no  personal  beauty, 
but  played  the  old  woman  of  comedy  respectably.  Miss 
Tuke  was  young,  handsome,  and  an  actress  of  some  merit, 
and  improved  in  beauty  and  elegance ;  but  all  was  lost  by 
her  yielding  herself  a  victim  to  intemperance.  Mrs.  Henry 
was  a  small,  fair  woman,  with  much  talent,  both  for  speak- 
ing and  singing ;  and,  although  she  derived  no  aid  from 
her  figure,  yet  her  spirit  and  judgment  rendered  her 
tragedy  effective.  % 

Mrs.  Storer,  with  four  daughters,  had  joined  the  com- 
pany in  Jamaica,  before  its  return  to  the  continent,  after 
the  peace  of  1783.  The  eldest  and  the  youngest  were  in 
succession  married  to  Henry.    The  former  was  lost  on  her 


84 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


passage  from  Jamaica  in  consequence  of  the  burning  of 
the  vessel  in  which  she  was  a  passenger.  The  second 
daughter  was  long  known  on  our  stag0,  first  as  Miss  Storer, 
•  and  afterwards  as  Mrs.  Hogg.  She  made  her  debut  as  Nyssa 
in  the  burletta  of  Midas,  in  March,  1786.  The  play  which 
preceded  it  was  the  Tempest,  which  I  recollect  the  better 
from  the  circumstance  that  this  was  •  the .  first  theatrical 
representation  at  which  I  was  ^present.  The  third  after- 
wards joined  the  company  as  Mrs.  Mechler,  and  the  fourth 
appeared  occasionally  during  the  season,  first  under  the 
description  of  "  a  gentlewoman,"  and  latterly  under  the 
name  of  Mrs.  Henry.  Her  first  appearance  was  in  the  parts 
of  Patty  in  the  Maid  of  the  Mdl,  and  Daphne  in  Daphne  and 
Aminton,  at  Henry's  benefit.  She  possessed  both  beauty 
and  talent,  and  played  tragedy  and  comedy  with  spirit  and 
propriety,  although  her  figure  was  rather  small  for  the 
heroine  of  either ;  but  she  appeared  to  the  greatest  advan- 
tage in  operas,  as  she  was  the  best  public  singer  in  the 
country  until  1792,  and  a  better  actress  than  any  singer 
who  has  since  appeared. 

During  the  same  spring,  the  company  was  increased,  if 
not  strengthened,  by  the  arrival  from  England,  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Kenna,  Mr.  J.  Kenna,  and  Miss  Kenna,  Mrs.  Kenna 
made  her  first  appearance  as  Isabella,  in  which  character  I 
recollect  to  have  seen  her,  but  whether  on  this  occasion  or 
not,  I  do  not  remember.  I  remember,  however,  that  she 
struck  me  as  being  altogether  too  small  for  the  part,  and  that 
the  expression  of  her  grief  provoked  at  least  as  many  smiles 
from  the  male  portion  of  the  audience,  as  tears  from  the 
women  and  children.  This  season  was  more  memorable 
for  the  first  representation  in  Anferica  of  The  School  for 
Scandal,  and  The  Pfrtk  Soldier,  the  master  pieces  of  Sheri- 
dan and  O'Keefe.  Henry's  Sir  Peter  Teazle  and  Patrick, 
and  Wignell's  Josepih  Surface  and  Darby  are  remembered 
with  pleasure,  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  sixty  years, 


AN  OLD  YOKKER. 


85 


although  I  have  since  witnessed  the  performances  of  Placide 
(among  modern  comedians,  facile  princeps)  in  the  first  of 
those  characters. 

"WTiile  the  Old  American  Company  were  thus  delighting 
the  town,  a  paper  war  hroke  out  between  the  friends  and 
enemies  of  the  drama,  and  continued  without  intermission 
throughout  the  season.  It  first  hroke  out  in^the  Philadel- 
phia newspapers  during  the  short  campaign  in  that  city, 
and  upon  the  removal  of  the  Company  to  New  York,  with 
the  avowed  intention  of  returning  in  the  autumn,  a  debate 
took  place  in  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  on  a  motion 
to  add  a  clause  to  a  bill  "  for  suppressing  vice  and  immo- 
rality," prohibiting  of  any  "  play  house,  stage,  or  scaffold," 
for  the  purpose  of  enacting  any  kind  of  dramatic  works. 
An  animated  debate  followed  in  which  General  Wayne, 
the  hero  of  Stony  Point,  was  the  first  speaker.  He  was 
against  the  motion,  and  asserted  that  a  well  regulated 
theatre  was  undeniably  acknowledged  to  be  an  efficient 
engine  for  the  improvement  of  morals.  Dr.  Logan  thought 
that  a  theatre  was  fit  only  for  monarchies.  He  added, 
however,  that  if  we  had  a  theatre  under  proper  i-egulations, 
he  should  have  no  objection.  Mr.  Morris,  the  great  finan- 
cier of  the  Eevolution,  declared  himself  a  friend  to  the 
theatre,  as  affording  a  rational,  instructive,  and  innocent 
amusement.  Mr.  Clymer,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  observed  that  "  say  or  do  what  we  would  a 
theatre  would  be  forced  upon  us."  He  contended  that  it 
served  to  refine  and  purify  manners.  On  the  other  hand, 
Mr.  Whitefield,  the  mover  of  the  clause,  avowed  his  opinion 
that  no  regulation  could  prevent  the  vice  and  immorality 
of  the  theatre.  Mr.  Smiley  thought  that  by  drawing  the 
minds  of  the  people  to  amusement,  they  were  led  to  forget 
their  political  duties ;  and  Mr.  Finley  saw  in  a  theatre 
regulated  by  government,  "  a  dangerous  tool  in  its  hands." 
In  reply,  Mr.  Clymer  said  that,  if  the  pieces  represented 


86 


KE.MINISCENCES  OF 


are  not  immoral,  the  stage  cannot  be  immoral.  Mr.  Morris 
asserted  that  all  celebrated  nations  had  permitted  the  esta- 
blishment of  theatres,  and  that  they  had  improved  the 
manners  of  the  people.  The  taste  and  manners  of  the 
people,  he  said,  regulate  the  theatre,  and  the  theatre  had  a 
reciprocal  effect  on  the  public  taste  and  manners.  And 
General  Wayne  thought  the  prohibition  of  plays  during 
the  war  by  Congress,  an  ill-judged  measure,  and  that  a 
theatre  in  the  hands  of  a  Republican  government,  regu- 
lated and  directed  properly,  would,  instead  of  a  dangerous 
instrument,  be  a  happy  and  efficient  one.  After  some 
further  remarks  from  the  mover  and  others,  the  clause  was 
rejected. 

A  very  different  spirit  was  manifested  by  our  city  Legis- 
lature, who  refused  a  donation  from  the  managers,  of  one 
hundred  dollars  for  the  use  of  the  poor,  because  the  theatre 
had  been  opened  without  license  or  permission  from  the 
civil  authority.  This  they  considered  "  unprecedented  and 
offensive;  "  and  declared  that  while  so  great  a  part  of  this 
city  still  lay  in  ruins,  and  many  citizens  continued  to  be 
pressed  with  the  distresses  brought  on  them  by  the  late  war, 
there  was  a  loud  call  for  industry  and  economy ;  and  it 
would  in  a  particular  manner  be  unjustifiable  in  the  Cor- 
poration to  countenance  enticing  and  expensive  amuse- 
ments, among  which  a  play  house,  however  regulated  must 
be  numbered.  They  declined  accepting  the  donation,  as  it 
might  authorize  a  conclusion  that  the  board  approved  of 
the  opening  of  the  theatre. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  a  communication  appeared  in 
one  of  the  public  journals,  ironically  praising  the  wisdom 
of  the  city  magistracy  in  discountenancing  the  theatre,  and 
licensing  tippling  shops,  as  the  latter  were  harmless  and 
yielded  a  revenue  unpolluted  from  its  source.  The  writer 
takes  it  for  granted  that  the  members  of  the  Common 
Council  contributed  from  their  own  pockets  to  the  poor, 


AN  OLD  YORKER.  87 

the  sum  which  they  so  wisely  prevented  them  from  receiving 
from  the  players. 

Peregrine  Mindful. 

Marketfield  street,  August  9,  1847. 


[From  the  American  Mail,  Saturday,  August  21, 1847.] 

X  UMBER  TWELVE. 

The  next  season  the  John  street  Theatre  opened  with 
the  Provoked  Husband  and  Miss  in  her  Teens.  The  com- 
pany had  undergone  no  material  change.  A  Mrs.  Gifford 
made  her  first  appearance  as  Lady  Rusport,  in  the  West 
Indian.  Hallam's  Beh-our  would  have  heen  approved  in 
London,  as  his  native  creole  dialect  was  an  advantage 
instead  of  a  defect;  and  Henry's  O'fflaltcrti/  would  have 
been  applauded  in  Dublin. 

In  the  spring  of  this  year  was  performed  the  first  Ameri- 
can play  ever  brought  on  a  regular  stage.  It  was  a  comedy 
in  five  acts,  called  The  Contrast,  written  by  Royal  Tyler, 
then  a  lawyer  without  practice  in  Boston,  who  had  served 
with  credit  as  an  officer  in  quelling  Shays's  insurrection. 
He  afterwards  moved  to  Vermont,  where  he  became  a 
Judge,  and  finally  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
The  Contrast  ranks  first  in  point  of  time  among  American 
plays ;  and  though  deficient  in  plot,  dialogue  aud  incident, 
has  not  been  often  excelled  by  our  subsequent  dramatists 
in  regard  to  character.  That  of  Jonathan,  played  by  Vfig- 
nell,  was  marked  by  humor  and  knowledge  of  the  Yankee 
dialect,  in  which  respect  it  has  not  perhaps  been  surpassed 
by  any  of  its  successors.    The  author  gave  the  coined}'  to 


88 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


Wignell  who  pwblished  it  by  subscription ;  and  as  I  have 

before  me  one  of  my  father's  copiet  (for  he  subscribed  for 
several)  I  will  give  you  a  specimen  of  it,  and  select  for 
the  amusement  of  the  reader,  Jonathan  the  first's  descrip- 
tion of  the  theatre  in  New  York,  at  the  performance  of  the 
School  for  Scandal  and  The  Poor  Soldier. 

"  Jenny.  So,  Mr.  Jonathan,  I  hear  you  were  at  the  play 
last  night. 

Jon.  At  the  play !  Why,  do  you  think  I  went  to  the 
devil's  drawing  room  ? 

Jenny.    The  devil's  drawing  room  ? 

Jon.  Yes ;  why  ain't  cards  and  dice  the  devil's  device  ? 
And  the  play-house  the  shop  where  the  devil  hangs  out  the 
vanities  of  the  world  upon  the  tenter-hooks  of  temptation  ? 
I  believe  you  have  not  heard  how  they  were  acting  the  old 
boy  one  night,  and  the  wicked  one  came  among  them, 
sure  enough;  and  went  right  off  in  a  storm,  and  carried 
one  quarter  of  the  play-house  with  him.  Oh,  no,  no,  no ! 
You  won't  catch  me  at  a  play-house,  I  warrant  you. 

Jenny.  Now  Jonathan  —  tell  the  trutn  and  shame  the 
devil.    Where  were  you  about  six  o'clock  last  night  ? 

Jon.  Why  I  went  to  see  one  Mr.  Morrison ,  the  hocus  pocus 
man ;  they  said  as  how  he  could  eat  a  case  knife.  As  I 
was'going  about  here  and  there  to  find  the  place,  I  saw  a 
great  crowd  of  folks  going  into  a  long  entry  that  had  lan- 
terns over  the  door :  so  I  asked  a  man  if  that  was  the 
place  where  they  played  hocus  pocus  ?  He  was  a  very  civil 
kind  of  a  man,  though  he  did  speak  like  the  Hessians ;  he 
lifted  up  his  eyes  and  said,  "  They  play  hocus  p)0CUS 
tricks  enough  there,  got  knows,  mine  friend."  So  I  went 
right  in,  and  they  showed  me  away  clean  up  to  the  garret, 
just  like  a  meeting  house  gallery.  And  so  I  saw  a  power 
of  topping  folks,  all  sitting  round  in  little  cabins  just  like 
father's  corn-crib,  and  then  there  was  such  a  squeaking  of 
the  fiddles,  and  such,  a  tarnal  blaze  with  the  lights,  my 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


89 


head  was  near  turned.  At  length  people  that  sat  near  me 
set  up  such  a  hissing  —  hiss  —  like  so  many  mad  cats,  and 
then  they  went  thump,  thump,  thump,  just  like  our  Peleg 
thrashing  wheat,  and  stamped  away  just  like  the  nation, 
and  called  out  for  one  Mr.  Langolee  —  I  suppose  he  helps  act 
the  tricks. 

Jenny.    Well,  and  what  did  you  do  all  this  time  ? 

Jon.  Gor,  I  —  I  liked  the  fun,  and  so  I  thumpt  away, 
and  hissed  as  lustily  as  the  best  of  them.  One  sailor- 
looking  man  that  sat  by  me,  seeing  me  stamp,  and  knowing 
I  was  a  cute  fellow,  because  I  could  make  a  roaring  noise, 
clapped  me  on  the  shoulder  and  said,  "  You  are  a  d — d 
hearty  cock,  smite  my  timbers."  I  told  him  so  I  was,  but 
he  needn't  swear  so  and  make  use  of  such  wicked  words. 

Jenny.    Did  you  see  the  man  with  his  tricks  '< 

Jon.  Why,  I  vow,  as  I  was  looking  out  for  him,  they 
lifted  up  a  great  green  cloth,  and  let  us  look  into  the  next 
neighbor's  house.  Have  you  a  good  many  houses  in  New 
York  made  in  that  'ere  way  'I 

Jenny.    Not  many.    But  did  you  see  the  family  ? 

Jon.    Yes,  swamp  it,  I  seed  the  family. 

Jenny.    Well,  and  how  did  you  like  them  ? 

Jon.  Why,  I  vow  they  were  pretty  much  like  other 
families ;  there  was  a  good  natured  cuss  of  a  husband,  and 
a  sad  rantipole  of  a  wife. 

Jenny.    But  did  you  see  no  other  folks '{ 

Jon.  Yes.  There  was  one  youngster,  they  called  him 
Mr.  Joseph  ;  he  talked  as  sober  and  as  pious  as  a  minister ; 
but,  like  some  ministers  that  I  know,  he  was  a  sly  tike  in 
his  heart,  for  all  that,  he  was  going  to  ask  a  young  woman 
to  spark  it  with  him,  and  —  the  Lord  have  mercy  on  my 
soul  —  she  was  another  man's  wife. 

Jenny.    And  did  you  see  any  more  folks  ? 

Jon.  Why  they  came  on  as  thick  as  mustard.  For  my 
part  I  thought  the  house  was  haunted.  There  was  a  soldier 
12 


90 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


fellow  that  talked  about  his  row-de-dow-dow,  and  courted 
a  young  woman  ;  but  of  all  the  cute  folk  I  saw,  I  liked 
one  little  felloAV  —  he  had  red  hair,  and  a  little  round  plump 
face  like  mine,  only  not  altogether  so  handsome.  His 
name  was  Darby  • — that  was  his  baptizing  name  —  his 
other  name  I  forget.  Oh!  it  was  "Wig  —  Wag — Wag- 
all —  Darby  Wagall — pray,  do  you  know  him  ?  I  should 
like  to  take  a  sling  with  him,  or  a  drop  of  cider  with  a 
pepper  pod  in  it,  to  make  it  warm  and  comfortable. 

Jenny.    I  can't  say  I  have  that  pleasure. 

Jon.  I  wish  you  did,  he's  a  cute  fellow.  But  there  waa 
one  thing  I  didn't  like  in  that  Mr.  Darby,  and  that  was,  he 
was  afraid  of  some  of  them  'ere  shooting  irons,  such  as 
your  troopers  wear  on  training  days.  Now  I'm  a  true 
born  Yankee  American  eon  of  liberty,  and  I  never*  was 
afraid  of  a  gun  yet  in  all  my  life." 

Jenny  tells  him  he  "was  certainly  at  the  play-house," 
and  he  cries,  "  Marcy  on  my  soul!  Did  I  see  the  wicked 
players  ?  Mayhap  that  'ere  Darby,  that  I  liked  so,  was  the 
old  serpent  himself,  and  had  his  cloven  foot  in  his  pocket. 
Why,  I  vow,  now  I  come  to  think  on't,  the  candles  seemed 
to  burn  blue,  and  I'm  sure,  where  I  sat,  it  smelt  tarnally 
of  brimstone." 

He  proceeds  to  tell  of  his  demanding  his  money,  because  he 
had  not  seen  the  show ;  "  the  dogs  a  bit  of  a  sight  have  I  seen, 
unless  you  call  listening  to  people's  private  business  a  sight." 

Such  was  the  commencement  of  our  native  drama.  I 
was  not  present  at  the  representation  myself,  but  the  elder 
members  of  the  family  were,  and  I  presume  they  must 
have  enjoyed  it,  as  they  laughed  heartily  in  speaking  of  it 
at  breakfast  next  morning.  The  Contrast  appears  to  have 
been  approved,  as  it  was  performed  four  times  during  the 
season ;  the  last  representation  being  "  for  the  benefit  of 
the  unfortunate  sufferers  by  the  fire  in  Boston."  En- 
couraged by  the. favor  with  which  his  first  effort  had  been 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


91 


received,  the  author  produced  in  the  May  following,  a  farce 
for  "Wignell's  benefit,  called  May  Day,  or  New .  York  in  >>„ 
uproar.  At  this  I  was  present,  hut  was  not  much  enter- 
tained, as  it  was  hut  the  repetition  of  scenes  I  had  wit- 
nessed hy  daylight,  the  charm  of  novelty  was  wanting, 
and  the  reality  in  this  case  at  least,  seemed  preferable  to 
the  appearance.  Besides  the  above  comedy  and  farce,  Mr. 
Tyler  wrote  and  published  a  novel  called  The  Ahjerine  Cap- 
tives, and  several  poems.  He  died  in  1824,  having  long 
survived  these  works.  He  left  behind  him  more  valuable 
ones,  in  his  Repoi'ts  of  Cases  decided  in  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Vermont,  as  memorials  of  his  learning  and  talents  as 
well  as  his  name. 

An  amusing  instance  occurred  in  the  course  of  this  sea- 
son, of  the  attachment  still  cherished  towards  our  revolu- 
tionary allies  the  French.  At  the  first  representation  of 
The  Poor  Soldier,  the  pit  took  oft'ence  at  those  parts  in  which 
the  French  are  held  up  to  ridicule  and  contempt  in  the 
character  of  Bagatelle,  and  the  managers  it  seems  were 
obliged  to  apologize  in  the  newspapers,  and  make  alterations 
to  appease  the  audience. 

The  success  of  The  Contrast,  such  as  it  was,  was  sufficient 
to  induce  other  native  authors  to  follow  the  example  of  the 
Boston  dramatist  The  first,  and  perhaps  the  most  suc- 
cessful of  these,  was  Mr.  William  Dunlap,  a  fellow  citizen 
of  our  own,  who  many  years  afterwards  became  more 
intimately  connected  with  the  theatre  as  joint-manager  with 
Hodgkinson,  at  the  Park.  He  was  by  profession,  a  painter, 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death,  Vice  President  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Design;  but  was  perhaps  more  favorably 
known  to  the  public  by  his  History  of  the  American  Stage, 
to  which  I  am  largely  indebted  for  the  assistance  it  has 
afforded  to  my  memory ;  his  History  of  the  Arts  of  Design 
in  the  United  States,  and  his  History  of  New  York,  than 
by  any  of  his  dramatic  pieces,  or  his  pictures. 


92 


REMINISCENCES,  OF 


Towards  the  end  of  1787,  Mr.  Dunlap  returned  to  New 
York,  after  a  residence  of  more  than  three  years  in  London, 
where  l'ni'sucd  (lie  study  of  his  art  under  the  direction 
of  our  countryman,  Mr.  West,  from  whom  he  experienced 
all  the  kindness  and  attention  which  that  veteran  and  suc- 
cessful artist  was  wont  to  hestow,  especially  on  his  Ameri- 
can pupils.  The  young  painter,  however,  seems  to  have 
taken  more  delight  in  attending  the  theatres  than  the 
studio  of  his  instructor,  and  he  returned  home  with  his 
head  full  of  Shakespeare  and  Sheridan,  Home,  Goldsmith, 
Cumberland  and  Murphy.  Upon  his  ai*rival,  he  heard  of 
the  success  of  The  Contrast,  and  although  that  first-born  of 
our  dramatic  muse  was  already  shelved,  yet  the  repoi-t  of  ' 
its  primary  success  seems  to  have  fired  the  enthusiasm  our 
traveler  brought  with  him  from  Drury  Lane,  Convent  Gar- 
den, and  the  Ilaymarket.  Instead  of  handling  his  brush, 
and  preparing  his  colors,  and  his  canvass,  he  took  up  his 
pen,  dipped  it  in  lethean  ink,  and  willfully  blotted  some 
quires  of  foolscap  in  the  production  of  a  comedy  in  five 
mortal  acts,  called  TJie  Modest  Soldier,  or  Love  in  New  York, 
of  which  the  dramatis personce  consisted  of  a  Yankee  servant, 
(a  relation  perhaps  of  Jonathan),  a  traveled  American, 
(probably  a  portrait  of  our  author  painter  himself),  an 
officer  of  the  late  revolutionary  army,  (to  prove  his  sus- 
pected patriotism),  a  fop,  (to  give  vent  to  his  satirical  pro- 
pensities), and  an  old  gentleman  and  his  two  daughters, 
one  of  course  lively,  and  the  other  serious  (to  show  his 
respect  for  approved  dramatic  precedents).  The  author 
informs  us  that  his  piece  "  has  long  slept  in  the  tomb  of 
the  Capulets,"  and!  have  too  much  regard  for  his  memory 
to  disturb  its  repose.  It  was  nevertheless  accepted,  and 
cast  by  the  managers,  but  never  performed.  The  account 
he  gives  of  the  manoeuvre  by  which  it  was  disposed  of,  is 
too  rich  in  its  revelations  of  the  mysteries  of  the  green 
room,  to  be  withheld  from  the  reader.    After  some  delays 


AN  OLD  TORKEK. 


93 


as  to  the  appearance  of  the  comedy,  it  was  agreed  that  the 
representation  should  he  finally  deferred  until  the  next 
winter.  When  that  time  arrived,  certain  alterations  were 
proposed  and  made  to  suit  Mr.  Henry ;  hut  the  bringing 
out  was  still  postponed,  and  it  was  only  time  and  experience 
that  revealed  to  the  author  the  secret  cause  of  his  disap- 
pointment. There  were  no  parts  suited  either  to  Henry  or 
his  wife ;  and  the  one  was  the  acting-  and  the  other  the 
efficient  manager.  The  hest  male  part  character  was 
intended  for  Wignell,  and  the  best  female  for  Mrs. 
Morris,  his  proteye ;  and  the  acting  manager  and  his  lady 
were  at  variance  with  Wignell  and  with  Hallam  who  took 
part  with  him.  Thus  this  enlightened  author  was  the  more 
easily  persuaded  to  acquiesce  in  the  indefinite  postpone- 
ment of  his  first  comedy;  and  resolutely  set  himself  to 
work  upon  a  second.  This  was  brought  out  the  next 
season  under  the  title  of  The  Father,  which  was  subse- 
quently altered  to  TJic  Father  of  an  Only  Child.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Henry  on  the  one  side,  and  Mr.  Wignell  and  Mrs. 
Morris  on  the  other,  were  accommodated  with  parts.  The 
play  was  well  performed,  and  was  repeated  every  night  of 
performance  until  the  benefit,  but  was  laid  aside  when 
Wignell  seceded  from  the  company,  and  has  not  since  been 
revived. 

When  Wignell  took  his  benefit  this  year,  he  requested 
something  from  our  author  that  might  serve  to  attract 
from  its  novelty ;  and  as  he  was  popular  in  the  character 
of  Darby,  it  suggested  an  interlude,  in  which  Darby,  after 
various  adventures  in  America,  returns  to  Ireland  and 
recounts  them  to  his  friends.  But  as  I  despair  of  doing 
justice  to  the  author's  description,  I  shall  let  him  speak  for 
himself  by  transcribing  his  own  account  of  its  reception. 

This  trifle  was  called  Darby's  Beturn,  and  was  for  years 
extremely  popular,  and  several  times  published.  The 
remembrance  of  this  performance  is  rendered  pleasing  from 


94 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


the  recollection  of  the  pleasure  evinced  by  the  first  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  the  immortal  "Washington,  who 
attended  its  representation.  The  eyes  of  the  audience  were 
frequently  bent  on  his  countenance,  and  to  watch  the 
emotions  produced  by  any  particular  passage  upon  him  was 
the  simultaneous  employment  of  all.  When  Wignell,  as 
Darby,  recounts  what  had  befallen  him  in  America,  in 
]STew  York,  at  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution, 
and  the  inauguration  of  the  president,  the  interest  expressed 
by  the  audience  in  the  looks  and  the  changes  of  counte- 
nance of  this  great  man  became  intense.  He  smiled  at 
these  lines,  alluding  to  the  change  in  the  government  — 

There  too  I  saw  some  mighty  pretty  shows ; 
A  revolution,  without  blood  or  blows, 
For,  as  I  understood,  the  cunning  elves, 
The  people  all  revolted  from  themselves. 

But  at  the  lines  — 

A  man  who  fought  to  free  the  land  from  wo, 
Like  me,  had  left  his  farm,  a-soldiering  to  go  ; 
But  having  gained  his  point,  he  had,  like  me, 
Return'd  his  own  potato  ground  to  see. 
But  there  he  could  not  rest.    With  one  accord 
He's  called  to  be  a  kind  of —  not  a  lord  — 
I  don't  know  what,  he's  not  a  great  man,  sure, 
For  poor  men  love  him  just  as  he  were  poor. 
They  love  like  a  father  or  a  brother. 

Derjiot. 

As  we  poor  Irishmen  love  one  another. 
The  president  looked  serious ;  and  when  Kathleen  asked, 

How  looked  he,  Darby  ?    Was  he  short  or  tall  ? 

his  countenance  snowed  embarrassment,  from  the  expecta- 
tion of  one  of  those  eulogiums  which  he  had  been  obliged  to 
hear  on  many  public  occasions,  and  wbich  must  doubtless 
have  been  a  severe  trial  to  his  feelings ;  but  Darby's  answer 


AN  OLD  YORKER. 


95 


that  lie  had  not  seen  him,  because  he  had  mistaken  a  mau 
"  all  lace  and  glitter,  botherum  and  shine,"  for  him,  until 
all  the  show  had  passed,  relieved  the  hero  from  apprehen- 
sion of  further  personality,  and  he  indulged  in  that  which 
was  with  him  extremely  rare,  a  hearty  laugh. 

About  the  same  time,  Mr.  Samuel  Low,  a  clerk  in  the 
Bank  of  Xew  York,  wrote  a  comedy,  which  was  rejected 
by  the  managers,  and  published  for  their  justification  by 
the  author. 

Peregrine  Mindful. 
Marketfield  street,  August  Uth,  1847. 


